Harry Potter and the Fifth Year Adventure
by NewTimeFan
Summary: This story was previously titled "Harry Potter and the Secrets of the Founders." Contains animagus, powers increased, adventure, love, and Harry Potter as in incredible hero of the light.
1. Summer Realizations and Shopping

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or the world of Harry Potter.

**A/N: **I hope you enjoy! This was originally titled "Harry Potter and the Secrets of the Founders" so if the begining sounds familiar it most likely is. But, this story goes into more detail of the training process and should contain more details in the story overall.

**Chapter One: Summer Realizations and Shopping**

The sky was a dark blue only illuminated by the stars visible through the trees and playground equipment. The playground was devoid of children due to the ten o'clock hour; families were inside their homes getting ready to tuck their children into bed. Little did they know that one child was still lying, unnoticed by anyone, on the ground of the dampened grass. That child was a fourteen-year-old boy named Harry Potter.

Harry Potter could not sleep. He was too busy remembering the night only three days ago when his Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, brought him back from the third event of the Triwizard Tournament. He had to tell how Cedric Diggory died with after the words-_ Kill the Spare!_- how Voldemort used his blood to resurrect from the dead and how he was forced to duel and suffer pain through the Cruciatus Curse.

If that event was not enough to leave Harry deep in thought, Dumbledore shared with him a memory. But, this memory was not something trivial; it was the memory of Professor Trelawney saying a prophesy.

"_The One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…._

_And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal but he will have a power the Dark Lord knows not…._

_and either must die and the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."_

Dumbledore told Harry that the "one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord" was in fact Harry due to the scar on his forehead. Harry could not blame him from keeping that information from him for now he feels as if the weight of the world were pressing down on his small, weak-looking shoulders. With each word there is a little more weight and with each memory of Voldemort there is now a reason for him to blame himself. _If it weren't for me then Mom and Dad would still be alive…If it weren't for me my friends wouldn't have to constantly be in danger…if it weren't for me then Cedric would still be alive. _

With these facts in mind, Harry began his walk away from the dark depths of the park and toward number four Privet Drive where his family would be getting ready for bed, not sparing a thought about where the burden that was placed on them over thirteen years, Harry Potter, was.

But, Harry did not think about the family that awaited him when he returned home. Harry thought about the family he had at Hogwarts and how he was going to not going to let them down. He was going to kill Voldemort.

When Harry reached his room he took out a quill and parchment and began to plan for the summer that lied ahead. He was not going to spend his time being depressed or lazy. He was going to do all that he could to train himself and prepare for the war that was ahead, knowing that he was the one that could finally end it. So, with that, he began scratching with his untidy scrawl across the page.

_Monday-Saturday Morning Routine: _

_5:00-5:30 a.m. Run to the local gymnastic/ martial arts/ gym _

_5:30-6:30 a.m. Work out in the gym _

_6:30-8:00 a.m. Train with Mark in gymnastics _

_8:00-10:00 a.m. Train with Colton in martial arts _

_10:00-12:00 a.m. Work with Rebecca on meditation and water aerobics _

_12:00-1:00 Lunch _

_Monday: _

_1:00-3:00 Transfiguration _

_3:00-5:00 Defense Against the Dark Arts _

_Tuesday: _

_1:00-3:00 Animagus training _

_3:00-5:00 Arithmancy_

_Wednesday: _

_1:00-3:00 Charms _

_3:00-5:00 Potions _

_Thursday: _

_1:00-3:00 Herbology_

_3:00-5:00 Defense Against the Dark Arts _

_Friday: _

_1:00-3:00 Occlumency/ Legilimency_

He already worked a deal with Rebecca, Mark, and Colton yesterday. He was going come back at 5:30 everyday to clean and work at the gym to allow him to train in the gym with them. The people there saw him as genuine and caring and gave him the deal. He knew this was an amazing deal and would not let them down.

He also left space open on Friday and Saturday for things that he might think of later. He decided that he going to use the Knight Bus to get to Diagon Alley tomorrow.

At six o'clock the next morning, Harry woke to the sound of his alarm clock. He slipped out of bed and took a quick shower. He got to his room and changed into an emerald green polo shirt that he bought last year during a Hogsmede trip along with a pair of faded jeans and a simple pair of sneakers. On his head he wore a baseball cap to cover his scar as to not be recognized.

He placed the invisibility cloak over his head and headed down the stairs, through the door and around to the playground where he preceded in sticking out his wand (though not using it, he still carried it around in his front pocket) in order to call the night bus. The Knight Bus rounded the corner and he rapidly pulled off his cloak in time to see the face of Stan, the conductor of the Knight Bus.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, local transport for the local witch or wizard, my name is Stan Shunpike. How may I be of service?" Stan recited.

"I need to get to Diagon Alley please." Harry said.

"No problem, no problem. Come on in. One trip to Diagon Alley would be 6 sickles but you can have hot chocolate for an extra sickle."

"I'll take the hot chocolate please." Harry said while handing the 7 sickles that he found in the bottom of his trunk before he left his room.

Harry walked into the bus and sat down on the nearest chair which happened to be on the right side of the bus a row behind the driver. He was the only one on the bus so he arrived at the Leaky Cauldron in five minutes and during that time he did not speak a word to either Stan or the driver.

He got off the bus with a simple goodbye and headed into the Leaky Caldron. He went through the archway to the alley where he stood in awe for a minute like always; magic never seized to amaze him.

He immediately went to Gringotts where he was greeted by a goblin named Sharpslack who led him to another goblin. When the goblin turned around to greet him, Harry recognized him immediately and greeted him before the goblin had a chance to talk.

"Good morning Griphook." Harry said.

Both goblins stood in shock for a wizard had not recognized a goblin and greeted one in over five hundred years. To most wizards all the goblins look the same. The only wizards who can see the differences in the goblins have the ability known as Goblinese. Wizards who have this ability can talk in the traditional Goblin language and can use Goblin magic. The goblins told him that and he stood there in shock-he did not know that such a thing existed. Getting over his excitement he asked the goblins to take him to his vault.

He took the trip down to his vault where he talked to Griphook in the traditional Goblin language. Surprisingly, he did not need to think much about what he was saying. The words coming from his mouth felt natural and he soon felt into talk about his vaults. He discovered that he had more than one vault being the head of the Noble House of Potter.

He was the last of the lineage but could not take any money out of that vault until he came of age. But, he could take out any weapons, books, or furniture that he desired. So, after collecting enough galleons for his trip and transferring some galleons into pounds, he went to visit the Potter vault.

Griphook told him to place his palm in the middle of the Potter symbol. It was a wand and a sword crossed over each other with a griffin in the background sitting on its hind legs looking like it was about to take flight using the majestic gray wings that arched on its back.

Harry put his palm on the symbol and it glowed red for a moment before the wall disappeared to reveal a gigantic room, roughly ten times the size of his previous fault. It had no furniture but it did contain some weapons including swords and two bookshelves of ancient books.

He walked over to the weapons and picked up a gleaming sword. It had rubies and emeralds in the handle and felt light in his hand. When he looked closely at it he noticed it was engraved. On the handle read the name Johnathan Potter. Harry assumed it was his grandfather.

Griphook decided to speak up then. He said, "The main magic that Goblins have is not what you might consider magic though it is preciously that. It is the magic of sword handling. Goblins spend most of their time welding swords and having sword fights. With the magic that you have now, it should be easier for you to learn. That being said it will take hard work."

Harry stood there thinking about what Griphook said and then decided to keep the sword in order to learn and practice the Goblin magic.

He then walked over the bookshelves. What he discovered there amazed him. There were books on arts such as wandless magic and animagus transformations. There were also journal of all the heads of the Potter family.

He decided to take some of the recent journal, including one of his father's, and about ten other books on magic he decided he would need in training. The books, along with the sword, were placed in a bottomless, weightless bag.

He then made his way to the center of the large room where there was a note and a box on a small table. The note was addressed to the head of the House so he opened it and read it to himself.

_Dear Heir, _

_Now that it has come into your knowledge of this vault, you are naturally the head of the Noble House of Potter. Being a Potter means being brave and strong. For centuries, the Potter family has produced Aurors and warriors. I hope that this pattern continues. _

_I request that you take up a journal and write about your life in the pages. Each Master Potter has written their life in a journal for the family to learn about their lifes. It is best to learn from the past to help improve the future. _

_I also implore you to take the Potter Ring. It will recognize you as the Master of the House and will therefore, let everyone know of your status. I will resize on you to suit your size. I hope you wear it with pride like those before you. Only a true Potter will be able to wear this ring. _

_I wish you luck on all of your journeys. _

_Sincerely, _

_James Potter _

_P.S. Son, I am sorry to be so impersonal but this it is necessary in writing these letters. Now that the formality is out of the way, I want to say I love you Harry. I hope that you make the Noble House of Potter proud, as I am proud of you. _

Harry closed the envelope from his father and reverently placed it back in its envelope. He then picked up the box and opened it. Inside was a velvet case. He took out the case and held it in his hands for a minute. He then opened it and pulled out a ring.

The ring was gold and fairly thick. On the front it held the Potter Crest which was the sword and wand with a griffin. On the left engraved in an elegant script were three words: Live, Fight, Love.

He traced his hand over the words and carefully slipped the ring onto his ring finger and felt as the ring resized to fit him. He then walked over to where the goblin was waiting for him and they both walked back to the cart.

After the cart ride, Harry got out of the cart with his bottomless, weightless bag of books and a sword. He also carried a rather large bag of galleons which he hid in his front pocket.

He thanked Griphook before walked to the exit.

People turned around to look at the wizard and goblin because they did not sound like they were speaking English. The noise they were making was something between clicking and talking. They quickly got over their shock and returned to what they were doing previously when the wizard left the bank.

The second place he headed was Flourish and Blotts to get all the books that he would need in order to train over the summer. He first walked to the Defense section where he proceeded to buy the most books. He bought _Defense 101, A Guide to Defend Yourself, A How-To Guide to Defend, Defense and Offense Spells, Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, Dark Lords of History and how they were Defeated, _and _Offense Spells that Could Save Your Life. _He placed these in the never ending, weightless bag and continued on to the Transfiguration section. There, he picked up two beginner books, one advanced book, one on how to use Transfiguration in a duel, and three books on how to become an animagus and how to identify them.

He continued on throughout the store picking up at total of forty books to use in his training along with all the school books that he would need for the next years at Hogwarts. When he was finished with the training books he went over to the history of magic section and checked out six books on the history of Goblins and Goblin magic. One of them helped to explain how to use Goblin magic which was written by Theodore Goldsted. The man checking out the books told him that Theodore was the last known person to have Goblinese and was around over 500 years ago. He then exited the store with a weightless, bottomless bag filled with the books.

The next place he went to was Elizabeth's Sight Shop. He thought that if he was going to start learning gymnastics and martial arts then he would need to somehow get rid of his glasses.

When he entered he was greeted by a nice, middle-aged witch who greeted herself as Elizabeth Greenwood. She asked him to take a seat in order to take a look at his eyes. She approached him and looked into his eyes and gasped.

"These are the most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen. They are like pools of emerald. Why were you hiding them behind these glasses?" Elizabeth asked.

"Um….thank you." Harry said rather shyly blushing light pink "I guess I just never thought about my eyes but now I need a way to get rid of these glasses. Is there anything you can do about that?"

"Of course dear. You can get what muggles call contact lenses or there is a new procedure similar to that of Lasik Eye Surgery in the muggle world where we can correct your vision now so you will never need glasses or contacts. It will take about a half hour at the most. It will cost two galleons for the contact lenses or fifty galleons for the surgery. Which one is it dear?" Elizabeth asked.

"I think I'll take the surgery please." Harry said.

She looked pleased and went to get ready. A half hour later Harry was paying for the procedure and thanking the lady profusely for he now was walking around glasses-free.

He exited the store and went into the apocathary to get his potion supplies knowing that he needed more than usual. He would need ingredients for his potions practice and in order to make the animagus potion. He spent an hour in the store buying all the things that he would need and left the store with twenty galleons less.

He then entered Magical Menagerie where he looked at all the animals. He still loved Hedwig but he liked to have more company during his time at the Dursley's house. He walked over to the snakes when a lady can up beside him named Shelby. She told him about all the different snakes and finally she told him about the snake she named Bellona which is Latin for Goddess of War.

"Bellona is a beautiful snake but no one… and I repeat no one… has been able to take her out of this cage. She bites anyone who tries. It's a good thing she is not poisonous." Shelby said shaking her head.

Bellona was a brilliant red snake with silver and gold scales scattered throughout. She was about four feet long and had a split tongue. When Harry saw her he knew that she needed someone who could understand her and she needed a home.

"_Hello Bellona…my name issss Harry Potter. What would you ssssay to coming home with me today?" Harry asked. _

"_You are a sssspeaker, young Harry." Replied Bellona. _

"_Yesssss. I am a ssspeaker. Would you like to come home with me? I only have one other animal-an owl named Hedwig." _

"_It would be an honor, Massster Harry." Said Bellona. _

Bellona then slid from her cage and laced herself around Harry's arm in a protective manner. She loved her new master because she could tell he was kind and pure of heart.

Harry then turned to see Shelby staring wide-eyed at him. He forgot that not many people were not used to seeing this type of conversation between a snake and wizard. There were in fact only two wizards alive that had to ability- him and Lord Voldemort.

"Sorry, I forgot that most people are not used to speaking to snakes. There is no need to worry, I'm Harry Potter though I would prefer it not to get out that I am here. I would like to buy Bellona here. What are all the necessary things I need for her?" Harry asked ignoring the fact that the women was still standing there in shock.

"Yes, of course." Shelby replied waking up from her shock. "You will need a large cage with plenty of room for water. Though she can find food outside, I would suggest buying about a dozen frozen rats to keep on hand just in case. There are also snake treats over this way." Shelby continued leading Harry over to a rack of treat containers.

Harry bought one of the largest cages which he would fill with sand on one side and water on the other. It would be similar to that of an ocean shore. He also bought a dozen rats like she recommended. He bought three different types of treats for her to try as well which Bellona helped pick out.

The next shop he went into was Eeylops Owl Emporium. There he quickly bought owl treats for Hedwig. While he was there he also bought a golden perch that he could put by his bed so that Hedwig would have a better place to rest.

Harry was then walking down the street the Quality Quidditch Store when he felt something pull him into a store in the dark side of the street. It was a tattoo parlor but he still felt compelled to go inside.

"Welcome to Adler's Tattoo Parlor home of the regular tattoos and rare tattoos alike." A man's voice said from in front of a display window.

"Hi. What do you mean by rare tattoos?" Harry felt compelled to ask.

"Well rare tattoos are just that. There are some people who are destined to have tattoos which are less than one percent. Those people are the ones that have tattoos that give them power. Only the people who drink this potion and glow are the ones that will be given a power with their tattoo. Once they drink the potion they will know exactly what tattoos to have and where to put them. There has only been one person here with me that had that happen to him and it was just a small tattoo which gave him the power to chance his eye color though there are too many to count that have tried. I must warn you though, if you glow or not, you will experience tremendous amounts of pain."

"I think I'll try the potion." Harry said. _How much more painful can it be from the Cruciatus Curse? _He thought.

The man gave him a suspicious look but gave him the potion none the less. He drank it in one gulp and when he thought nothing had happened, a brilliant dark purple light encompassed him. Then the pain came, it was like sharp razors on his skin, but just as quickly as it came, it left. When the glow was finished, he knew actually what tattoos to have.

The man was standing there in awe as he watched the light close in around the boy. He smiled brightly when Harry came back and asked him for a piece of parchment and quill. The man went to the counter and came back with the necessary items.

The first thing he drew was one of a stag. He told the man that this stag was to be placed on the inside of his left hand. The antlers of the stag reached up through his index and middle finger. The body covered his whole palm.

The second thing he drew was a shaggy dog. It looked just like Padfoot even with his tongue hanging out of his mouth with a huge grin. Harry told him that the dog would go over his right chest right above his heart.

The third thing he drew was a werewolf which he told the man was to be placed on his back close to the nape of his neck. It reached from his left shoulder blade and came across and up till its head was just visible through his hair.

The last thing he drew was of a lily with red petals and an emerald green center. He said it was to go on his right wrist. It was fairly small but was vibrant and lively.

The man got to work with the needle and began drawing the tattoos onto his skin. Harry discovered that there were very little differences between how muggles get tattoos and wizards get tattoos. When he was finished he was given some cleaning potion that he would have to use for three days. He felt slightly sore but was told that would only last about an hour.

He left the store when he heard his stomach growl. It was 12:30 and he went into the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. He ordered a sandwich and an apple with pumpkin juice. He sat down and listened to the conversation around the bar. Men were discussing the Quidditch tournament that was occurring between the teams in Europe. Women were gossiping about how Madam Malkin's was now selling muggle clothing as well.

He left the Leaky Cauldron and headed toward Madam Malkin's for a complete wardrobe. He entered the store and heard a bell chime and a girl who looked to be about twenty came up to him and asked him what she could help him find.

"I need a complete muggle wardrobe with jeans, dress pants, swim trunks, shorts, polo shirts, t-shirts, and dress shirts. I also need work-out clothes like sweat pants and sweatshirts. Along with those I need tank tops and boxers and pajamas. I would also like to buy my Hogwarts uniforms and a few dress robes." Harry replied.

The young girl was standing there with her mouth open. It was then that he realized that they were paid by commission and she just had one of the largest sales.

She took him in a room where he had to take off all but his boxers. When he took off his hat, she recognized who he was and he had to make her promise not to tell anyone.

"Don't worry I won't tell. You probably don't remember me but I was a sixth year Gryffindor when you came to Hogwarts. My name is Samantha Huston."

They continued to talk and Harry let her chose what she thought would look best on him. He ended up buying lots of muggle clothes. He bought five pairs of dark and light wash skinny jeans, two pairs of leather pants (after much persuasion from Samantha), two pairs of dress pants, six pairs of shorts in different styles, a dozen v-neck t-shirts in various colors, six crew cut t-shirts, ten polo shirts, five dress shirts, a pair of dress shoes, two pairs of trainers, and a pair of combat boots made from dragon skin.

He also bought work-out clothes including seven pairs of sweatpants, five shorts, a dozen tank tops known as white beater, a couple of sweatshirts, and six swim trunks in different colors.

He bought his new wizardry robes for Hogwarts along with three other dress robes. The first was silky black with silver embroidered around the collar and arms in an intricate design. The second was a dark red that almost looked black. It had golden designs all the way down the side of the robe. The third was emerald green which Samantha said really brought out his eyes.

He left the store in extremely tired but happy with what he had accomplished. He made his way over to Ollivander's. He thought that since his wand would not work against Voldemort's in a duel then he would have to get a new wand.

"Why Mister Potter, I wondered when I'd be seeing you again." Ollivander said when Harry entered the store.

Harry told him about the how his wand and Voldemort's wand would not work properly in a duel together and how he hoped to find a second wand.

Ollivander told him that he could probably make a wand for him and would have it ready in an hour for him to pick up once he found his wood, core, and determined how long to make it.

"You just have to put your palm over each of these and you will feel a pull in the item that should go in your wand." Ollivander explained.

Harry went down the row of items and felt the pull on the phoenix feather, the unicorn hair, and the griffin fur. Next he had to go down the wood and he felt the pull toward the whomping willow bark.

Harry left the store and headed toward Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour to eat ice cream and wait for his wand to be ready. He ended up talking to Bellona about her life. He found out that she was the elder in a tribe that shared knowledge with speakers. She told him that Nagini, Voldemort's familiar, was once the leader of the elders until she abandoned them to seek power with Voldemort. He listened to the story and found out that the hour was already up. So, with Bellona wrapped around his neck, he walked toward Ollivander's to pick up his wand.

He entered the store and was greeted by a tremendously excited Ollivander. Ollivander told him that it was one of the most powerful wands he ever made but it would only work that powerful for him.

"It was almost as much fun to make as when I used to have basilisk material." He said in a quieter voice.

"What did you say about Basilisks?" Harry asked.

"Well basilisks have amazing properties to experiment with in wands. But I haven't had the chance to work with it in over a hundred years." He answered. Harry wondered how old Ollivander was but quickly got rid of the thought in order to answer him.

"I happened to know where a very dead, very ancient basilisk is. What would you say if I sent you some of the parts once school starts in exchange for this wand?" asked Harry.

"Why, I'd say you have a deal!" Ollivander exclaimed and shook Harry's hand.

Harry turned around to leave the store when Ollivander asked, "What happened to the basilisk?"

Harry called back, "I killed it." He walked away chuckling after seeing the surprised look on the wand maker's face.

When Harry got home he placed all his books on the book case that his "family" had dumped in his room at the beginning of the summer. They originally had given it to Dudley but as soon as that happened he demanded to have a T.V. instead.

So, Harry proceeded to place all the books he had bought, which came to around 60 books, on the top of the book case along with the journals and books from the Potter fault. Then he got all his old school books which he placed closed to the bottom.

Next, Harry took out is cage and set up the area that Bellona was going to live in. he put a mound of sand in the bottom left side and then went to the bathroom to fill some water on the remaining side. Each side was separated by a plastic divider so it would not end up being sandy water. Bellona then thanked him and slid from his arm and into her cage which happened to be next to Hedwig's cage. Harry walked to the other side of the room where next to his bed he put Hedwig's golden perch. It was on the side closest to the window so she could still come in during the night without waking him.

Then Bellona turned around and talked to him.

"_Masssster Harry. If you are a sssspeaker, do you know about Parsssel Magic?" Bellona asked _

"_No, is it common?" _

"_Only the elder sssssnakess know about ssssuch magic like I told you about before. I happen to be the leader of the elder ssssnakes now which is why I would never go with a person without the purest of heart." _

"_Oh, I guessss that makesss ssense. But what is the magic you talk about- Parsssel Magic?" _

"_It is the old magic of the snakes. There is magic of the Goblins, Wizards, Snakes, Centars, and any magical creature. You already know you have the magic of the wizard in you but since you are a sssspeaker then you alsssso have the magic of the snakessss." _

"_Wow, I had no idea. The Goblinssss also told me that I had the power of the Goblins, do you know why?" _

"_Yessss Massster Harry, when a wizard recognizesssss and greetsss a goblin like an equal then the magic that the goblinssss have is transferred to them. It gives you more fighting instincts which I can tell you already have a lot of. Thissss isss not known to have happened for about five hundred yearssss. Congradulationssss." _

"_Oh, thankssss…Well I better get finished putting away my stuff. Is it okay if I learn the ssssnake magic from you?" _

"_Of coursssse. I will also collect the otherssss in the tribe sssso that they can teach you what they know." _

"_Thankssss." _

Harry then took out his potion ingredients and put them in his trunk. It was still early in the day on Sunday so he decided to finish his schedule for the summer. So, he took out the piece of parchment with the start of the schedule and filled in the rest.

_Friday: _

_1:00-3:00 Occlumency/ Legilimency_

_3:00-5:00 Goblin Magic and History _

_Saturday: _

_1:00-3:00 Snake Magic (Parsel Magic) _

_3:00-5:00 Animagus Training _

Harry decided that Sundays would be spent resting, returning letters, and reviewed all that he had learned from the week. He could also spend Sundays to do whatever his relatives wanted of him. They mainly ignore him after the talk they had with Harry's friends on King's Cross Station.

With that last thought in mind, Harry closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	2. Training, Visions, and Fun Begins

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter of the world of Harry Potter.

**Chapter Two: Training, Visions, and Fun Begins**

**Monday June 3, 5:00 a.m.**

Harry woke up to the sound of his alarm clock and proceeded to get dressed in a pair of workout shorts and a gray v-neck t-shirt. He quickly brushed his teeth and hair and left the house in a light jog.

He made it to the training center right at 5:30 but he was out of breath. He walked in and was greeted by Samson, the manager and trainer for the gym aspect of the center. He walked Harry through all the exercises that he would be doing for the next hour. He had to do 15 minutes on the bike, 15 minutes of weight lifting, 15 minutes of the abdomen machine, and 15 minutes of the treadmill.

After the hour was up, Harry felt like he was going to collapse but he drank some water from the water fountain and made his way over to the gymnastic part of the center and was greeted by Mark. There were three other guys in the class which were around ten, twelve, and fifteen. Mark began by introducing himself and what they were going to learn how to do. By the end of the week they were going to be able to do handstands and cartwheels on the floor and flips on the trampoline. But, they were also going to learn how to be flexible and learn to stretch muscles.

"Now let's start by sitting on the floor and putting our legs strait in front of us and trying to touch out toes." Mark instructed.

The small group did that. Harry by far was the most flexible but he still could not reach is toes. The rest of the two hours was spent learning simple exercises to gradual become more flexible which would help when it came time to learning more flips and advanced material. He learned the ten-year-old's name was Devon, the twelve-year-old's name was Jonathan and the fifteen-year-old's name was Justin. They all quickly became friends and by the end of the training, they were all joking and laughing. They were to practice thirty minutes a night on the stretches.

He then made is way over to Colton who was to teach him martial arts. It was him and two other people in the class which looked to be about the same age as him. Their names were Quin and Andy. He arrived and they began the lesson. They began with the proper fighting stance and posture. By the end of the week they would be able to partner up and begin learning to dodge and hit without weapons.

When that ended, an extremely sore and tired Harry went to meet Rebecca who was going to teach him meditation and water aerobics. He wanted to learn to control his emotions better and become more comfortable in the water after the tournament. Rebecca was a pretty brunette in her early twenties. She introduced herself and he found himself in the room alone with her- there were no other people taking the class. She went straight into an explanation of what meditation was and how to do it.

"You need to clear your mind of all your thoughts. Try to focus on a place you find calming. You can try a beach and picture all the sounds, smells, and noises that you associate with it." Rebecca explained.

Harry tried focusing on the beach but since he had only been to one when he was little, he decided to focus on something else. He decided that his calm place was The Burrow. He saw Ginny and Ron passing the quaffle in the field beside their house. Fred and George were up in their room making joke products. Molly Weasley was in the kitchen making the food that he loved. The oldest of the boys were in the living room discussing Charlie's job with the dragons. When he thought about all of this, a smile graced his lips.

By the end of the class he felt calm and collected and thanked her. He then began his walk back to the house. It took his forty-five minutes but by the time he got the house he was famished.

He went into the kitchen which thankfully no one was using and made himself a sandwich and brought it up to his room along with an apple and a bottle of water. He ate all the food and by the time he was finished it was a little after one. So, he took out his old book on Transfiguration because he had to make sure he was a master at the basics before he began anything doing anything advanced. He read though the first six chapters in his book while taking notes on the spells so that he could make a list.

He then took out his DADA books and began doing the same thing. By the time five o'clock came, Harry was exhausted but he had to get the center in order to be able to pay for the classes he was taking. He got out his bike from the garage which used to belong to Dudley. He got to the center in twenty minutes and walked through the doors to be met by Samson who told him what work he had to do.

He finished cleaning and organizing files around 6:30 and began on his bike ride home. He was beginning to get exhausted of going from his house to the center so he planned to bring his lunch to the center tomorrow and eat it while walking home at a slower pace.

He got home around seven and opened the door to the house and saw Dudley eating in front of the television with his Uncle and Aunt on separate overly large chairs. He proceeded up the stairs and found a letter waiting for him along with a gray and white owl perched on the golden stand. He took the letter from the owl whom hooted in response and found that the letter was from his godfather. He took the letter and began reading it. He already knew his godfather was at the Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix because Dumbledore had begun sharing more information with him about the war. Harry knew that it was only trivial information but he felt better knowing that there was a group that was helping in the war and that his godfather was no longer hiding in a cave like last year but was in a home. He smiled slightly and opened the letter.

_Dear Harry, _

_I hope you are doing well. Not much is happening here so don't feel like you are missing out. I don't particularly like living in my parent's old house but I get the feeling that you do not like your living arrangements either. Anyhow, I wish you were here which would make living in this home a little more bearable. _

_But, I have already asked Dumbledore and he believes it is the safest place for you to be because of the blood protection. They have decided that you are to remain in your home until September first. From there some of us will pick you up to take you to the platform. _

_I hope you are having fun and I ask you not to worry about what Dumbledore told you at the end of the year. You, of all people, deserve to have a childhood like the one that you never had. But, I know that this is probably not what you are doing. I might have only met you again in your third year at Hogwarts but I feel like I have known you your whole life. I know that you have probably begun doing whatever possible to begin in training and for that I ask if there is anything I can do to help. I, of course, will not tell the Order of any of your plans so your secrets are safe with me. I might not be able to see you but I will continue to write to you no matter what. _

_Love forever from your Godfather, _

_Snuffles _

Harry felt warmth inside him after reading the letter for the second time. Sirius was a really great man and Harry felt lucky to have him as a godfather. He then got out another piece of paper and begun writing a response.

_Dear Snuffles, _

_You were right in saying that I am doing whatever I can to get ready. I began working out in the local gym because I can't do magic outside of school. I also took a trip to Diagon Alley on Sunday and picked up some books to begin reading. One of the things I know you can help me with is becoming an animagus. I am going to begin learning how to become one tomorrow but all I have are a few books and was wondering if you had any advice. _

_I hope that I become something that can help in the fight but either way become an animagus is an amazing accomplishment. Please don't tell anyone about my training I do not want them to think that I need someone watching over me every second of my day. I am safe and I wish I were with you but seeing as that is not possible then I hope we can continue writing these letters and I will share with you all that I have begun. _

_From your Godson, _

_Harry Potter _

* * *

**Tuesday June 4, 5:00 a.m.**

"_Hello Young Massster. Are you getting ready for your day?" Bellona asks. _

"_Yessss, I have to run down to the center until one." Replied Harry. _

"_Well, I have talked to the elderssss and they agreed to meet you here at one on Saturday. They are very pleasssed to teach you all that they know, as am I." _

"_Thank you, Bellona. And you really don't have to call me Massster, I'd like to be called Harry." _

"_Thank you, young Harry, and good luck today." _

"_Goodbye" replied Harry. _

Harry began his jog down the street and made it to the center, which is about a half a mile away, five minutes before 5:30 which he considered an accomplishment. He went to the gym area and began his work out. By the time that noon came around he was extremely tired but he felt like he had accomplished enough.

He walked outside and began eating the sandwich that he packed on his way to his house. He was extremely excited to learn how to become an animagus. He felt it was something that could bring him closer to his dad and Sirius. So, with that in mind, he walked up his stairs and began reading the beginner books to becoming an animagus. He learned that everyone has one form which shows what they are the most like. There has only been one person to ever have more than one form and that was Merlin. Merlin had three forms-a lion, owl, and phoenix. It was rare in itself to be able to become an animagus. There are only thirty animagus alive and registered today. It was also rare to become magical creatures and there were only five people including Merlin in history to have such an animagus form. Once you drink the animagus potion, you go into a trance and you go into a view of what your animal would be. You see as the animal would see.

So, what that knowledge he began making the potion which was actually quite simple and only took twenty minutes. He drank the potion and began to get into his trance.

First he saw himself in a large jungle and he was running with power and strength like a lion then he pounced in the air and began flying with ease. He landed and was surrounded by a family of griffins. He was a griffin. He was twice the size of any other griffin which made him a leader and which means he was about four times the size of a lion. He was a loyal red with a black and gold man which stuck up similar to Harry's hair. He still had his lightning bolt but it was in black fur atop his head.

Then suddenly the scene changed and he was flying in the sky. He was light and could fly with precision and ease like in his other form. He thought he was like any other bird then he looked down and saw that he was carrying a letter. He was an owl. He was solid black which he had never seen in any other owl. Besides that he was about the size of Hedwig.

Then the scene changed again and he started running again only this time he was slightly slower put much leaner and slyer. He stalked through a jungle and climbed through tree limbs with ease, even jumping with such grace it was surprising. He was a panther. He was about six feet long and four feet high and was a sleek black like ink. The startling emerald eyes even more piercing than in his human form.

Then the scene changed again and he was galloping through a small meadow on his way to a stream. He looked down and at first thought he was a horse but then he noticed that bright white color. He was a unicorn. He was not just bright white, he was shining with gold and silver spread throughout his body. He was the most beautiful unicorn he had ever seen.

Finally the scene changed once more and he was on the ground and did not have any legs. He was sliding on the ground of a chamber. He slid up and stuck out his collar and he realized he was a cobra. At first he looked only black but his collar was blood-red and extremely deadly looking. He was seven feet long. He had a blood-red lightning bolt that began atop his head and ended between his eyes.

He came back from his trance and looked up at his pets and let out a breath he did not know he was holding it. _Oh my God _Harry thought _I have more forms than Merlin. I have five forms-griffin, owl, panther, unicorn, and cobra. _

He continued to just stare at the wall until Bellona spoke to him.

"_What issss it little one?" Bellona asked. _

"_Do you know about animagi?" asked Harry in response. _

"_Yesss. I know all about animagi. People get an animal form which most likely represent themselves. Merlin himself even had three forms because he was extremely powerful therefore he could have that many forms. Did you find out your form?" _

"_Yessss. Actually…. I have five formsss. I am a griffin, owl, panther, unicorn and cobra." _

"_Wow, that is sssurely impressive but I always knew to expect great thingssss from you." _Bellona replied and slid out of her cage and into Harry lap where she curled up in a ball, head sticking out of the center_. "Ssso you can becccome a sssnake." _

Harry laughed then replied,_ "I guessss that isss true." _

"_Well I guessss you ssshould continue your sssstudies." _Bellona replied while sliding off Harry's lap and onto the bed where she curled herself around the bed post.

Harry then got out his Arithmancy books which though he did not take at Hogwarts thought that he could begin learning. It would be useful if he knew the origins of the spells and maybe would be able to make one for himself. He read through half of the first book before five o'clock came.

He got on his bike and made it to the center in fifteen minutes where he went and did all that they asked and left just before seven.

He got back home just in time to make dinner for his family. He was quite good at cooking and made a lasagna and garden salad. Once the food was done, he went up to his room to eat. He ate all his dinner while talking to Bellona who told him all about becoming an animagus. She put it in simple terms and even told him a shortcut on how to become one. He could become one easier because he had the magic of the wizard, goblin and snake. It would be difficult but he could get it done quicker. She told him he could probably have all his forms by his birthday.

* * *

**Friday June 7, 3:00 p.m.**

Harry was just starting to read about Goblin magic and he was extremely impressed. Goblins could also make weapons out of any material by turning it into gold and silver. They could handle any weapon with beauty and fought expertly. Overall, they were extremely good fighters.

He was just about to go to the center when the same gray and white owl flew through the window. He took off the letter that he knew would be from Sirius and then put it on the desk before getting his bike and riding off.

When he got back at seven he opened the letter from Sirius.

_Dear Harry, _

_I would love to help you become an animagus. But keep in mind that not everyone has a form though I am absolutely sure that considering whom your parents were that you would have one. _

_After you make and drink the potion which you might have already, I want you to find out all you know about your animal. That is what your father and I did first. If you do not have the information you need in the muggle library then I could try to find it in the Black Family Library (only if it is magical- which only five people have gotten but knowing you, you probably ended up with a magical form). _

_I am so proud that you want to become an animagus and I can't wait to hear what form you get. Even if you don't get a form, I am proud to be your godfather. _

_Love forever from your godfather, _

_Snuffles _

Harry then took out a piece of parchment and quill and wrote down his response. He decided that since they were not hiding the main things from him that he would not hold back in his response to Sirius.

_Dear Snuffles, _

_You would not believe it! _

_I do have a form and not just one- I have five! That's more than even Merlin who had 3! I asked Bellona, my new snake, why it was that I have five forms and she said it was because I was powerful. Can you believe it? I certaintly couldn't. Me? Powerful? And they are not just regular forms, two of them are magical. _

_At first I had a griffin, then I got an owl, a panther, unicorn, and cobra. _

_It's hard to believe but that is really what I got. And before you ask my potion was perfect. I would like to remind you not to share this with anyone. _

_How is the Order doing? I haven't had any scar pain if they ask. _

_I hope that you are having a good time and I can't wait to see you, sometimes it is lonely here but I have been making friends with some of the guys at the training center. We have been playing basketball, a muggle sport, at night. I found myself pretty good at it. Anyway, I miss you and I hope to see you soon. _

_Your Godson, _

_Harry Potter _

_

* * *

_

The next day was Saturday, it started out like any other day. It had been a whole week from the beginning of the training and he could already tell the difference. He could see the start of a six-pack, his arms and legs had more definition, and he actually felt taller. He went to work out and he could do twice as much in the time assigned as he could at the beginning of the week. At gymnastics he could execute a perfect handstand and hold it. He could do cartwheels like he'd been doing them his whole life. He could do rolls with a running start and could do flips on the trampoline.

When he went to martial arts he could beat any of his teammates in class and Colton decided that he would have personal training with one of his assistances named Gordon. He then made his way to meditation and water aerobics. He felt more relaxed and calm and could efficiently clear his mind which was perfect for Occlumency which he learned about yesterday.

It finally came time for his meeting with the snakes and he did not know what to expect. He certainly did not think that twenty medium sized snakes would come into his room.

"_Hello Young one, we heard from Bellona that you wisssshed to learn the art of Parsssel Magic." Said a snake who introduced herself as Maddox. _

"_Yessss. I wissssh to learn about it." Replied Harry. _

"_Well I am going to be your main teacher and the other ssssnakess around me are going to be around here if you ever need help or have a question." Replied Maddox while the other snakes slid from his window and out onto the side lawn. _

"_Now. I ssssee that you have a pure heart and I will teach you all that I know. First, sssnake sssspeakers have their own way of performing spells. All you have to do is perform the ssspells in Parsaltongue. These spells with be more powerful. We shall practice this before moving onto the next lesson." _

"_Okay. Thankssss." _

They continued to practice this, saying the spells without a wand on command which to Harry's surprise, actually caused the spells to work without a wand, for the next two hours and decided to meet again this time every week for the practice. Harry was having problems saying something in Parseltongue without a snake present. Maddox slid off the bed and out the window and he was left to talk to Bellona about what they would do tomorrow which was his first day off in six days.

* * *

**Sunday June 9, 6:00 a.m.**

Harry slept in as late as he could before making his way downstairs to cook breakfast. He made scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. Though he did not need to, he made enough for his entire family. They came downstairs right after he finished cooking and ate the breakfast he made. They did not say anything to him which was more than he could expect from them.

He walked up the stairs and changed into a royal blue v-neck shirt, showing just the beginning of his dog tattoo, and light gray sweat pants overtop a pair of burgundy swim trunks. He then jogged down to the small beach which was a little over a mile away to meet up with his friends from the center.

"Hey Harry!" called Jonathan.

Harry then walked over to the group was consisted of all the people he was training alongside. They all greeted him and began talked enthusiastically about the latest movies and their home lives. They made their way over to a net where they joined another small group in a game of beach volleyball.

Overall the day went well for Harry and he started on a jog back to his house. _This is what it feels like to be a normal teen._ Harry thought. _I hope that I can stop this war before it affects the lives of people like them-they wouldn't even know what hit them. _

* * *

**Tuesday, June 11 1:00**

Harry finished eating his sandwich and strawberries and began getting ready to begin Animagus training. On Saturday, after Harry checked out animal books at the local library, Bellona told him they would begin with one animal at a time. They would first focus on the griffin since it was his primary form and therefore would be the easiest to master first.

"_Are you ready to begin the animagusssss training, young Harry?_" Bellona asked when he finished his lunch.

"_Yessss."_ Harry replied while getting out the magical creatures book that Sirius sent him as well as his old Care of Magical Creatures book.

"_Do you feel the magic that issss inssside you?"_ Bellona asked. _"There are all different typessss on you. The largesssst is your wizard magic. It should feel warm and golden. The ssssnake magic should be cool and silvery. The goblin magic is not like the otherssss- it issss inssstintsss to fight and wield material."_

"_Okay, I feel the different typesssss. Now what?" _

"_Reach inssssside you and pull the wizard magic toward your arm and will your arm to turn into that of your Griffin's paw." _

Harry pulled some of his wizardry magic toward his arm and imagined that it was the royal red paw of his griffin. In a minute, his hand was replaced by that of the griffin.

They practiced that with all the different body parts but not the wings because he would need more space. By the end of his lesson, he felt like he really accomplished something and Bellona said by next week they could move to the woods nearby to practice transforming into the entire griffin.

* * *

**Wednesday June 12 5:30**

Harry arrived at the training center and walked to the gym aspect. He went to the treadmill and put it on fifteen miles per hour and ran for the fifteen minutes. He then walked to the abdomen machine which was the reason for his now clear six-pack. He worked for fifteen minutes before going to the bike where he got on and rode at a medium pace. He then went to the weight stand and got two thirty pound weights. This was one of the exercises that he was still weak in.

After he was done in the gym, he went to gymnastics. Devon, Jonathan, and Justin were already there as well as their trainer Mark and one of his assistances. Harry also progressed faster in gymnastics and had to work with the assistant on higher level material.

"Now I want you to hold a handstand for thirty seconds before giving me ten push-ups while still holding that stance." Greg, the gymnastic assistant, said.

He held the position but was only able to do four push-ups.

"I want you to practice this every day. Hopefully by this time next week you will be able to do it." Greg said.

When Harry got home that day he was extremely tired. His black shirt was drenched in sweat. It hung close to his growing biceps. He took a quick shower then went to his room.

When he got back to his room he opened his third year Charms textbook. Though he was beginning to form a certain respect and love for each subject, Charms was quickly becoming one of his favorites. He remembered people telling him that his mother was a natural at Charms and thought maybe that was where his love came from. After the two hours, he was half way through the book and placed it, with a bookmark in the correct page, back on the bookshelf.

He then took out the third year Potions text. Unlike the other subjects, he had to study additional texts along with it. He found some of the step-by-step books with descriptions and reasons for certain things very helpful. He was beginning to see patterns and reason for adding certain ingredients while seeing disaster when combining others.

When all that was over, the familiar gray and white owl which he knew belonged to Sirius came through the open window and sat itself onto the golden perch. Harry climbed out of the chair he was sitting in and brought the owl some water and an owl treat. He then untied the letter and the bird flew away.

He brought the letter to the desk and opened it. He then read:

_Dear Harry, _

_I hope you are doing well. I still am in shock when you told me that you had five Animagus forms- I thought it was some kind of practical joke. It's not, is it? Did the book help with any of your forms? I would love to hear how all the transformations but it will have to wait until later because the next letter you send I'm going to have to read to the Order because we had a question for you. Well, two questions really. _

_Well, anyway, here is the first situation. Snape came back from one of the death eater meetings worse off than we have ever seen him. He said that Voldemort would hiss something and people were hit with a spell but it was worse than that of the Cruciatus curse. You probably don't know what it is, not being Dark and all, but we thought that it wouldn't hurt to ask seeing as you are the only parselmouth that we know. _

_And the second thing is that people are getting restless. They know that Voldemort has returned and that don't want to leave their homes which is a tool that he is using. I know you hate to admit it but you are an icon on the light side. We were wondering if one day you would come to Diagon Alley to show people that everything should go about like normal. You would be with a member of the order, probably Remus and you would probably have to answer a few questions from reporters. If you agree, all you have to do is go to Mrs. Figg's and floo to Headquarters this Saturday. _

_Now that business is out of the way, how are you? How is your training? Hopefully you'll agree to come to Diagon Alley so that I can see you but I can understand since you don't care for the press. _

_Love forever from your godfather, _

_Snuffles _

Harry thought about the pros and cons of going shopping and answering the press questions. No matter his discomfort, he was not going to let Voldemort make people cower in fear.

He took out a clean piece of parchment and dipped his quill in ink.

_Dear Order, _

_To answer your first question, I do know the magic that he used. It was the Cruciatus Curse. But, he said the spell in Parseltongue which amplifies the amount of magic in the spell. This is known as Parsel magic which I am also training in. Bellona told me about the origins and Voldemort's familiar, Nagini, is educated in the magic and is most likely the reason Voldemort has acquired that knowledge seeing as he was the leader of the elders before abandoning them to seek power in the dark side which is quite an interesting story. But, what you told me actually confirmed what I had already suspected. _

_As for your second question, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, I am not going to let Voldemort rule people's lives. People need to learn that they should continue their lives and if it takes me answering a few questions and shopping, then so be it. I will see some of you on Saturday. _

_Sincerely yours, _

_Harry J. Potter _

He rolled up the parchment and tied it to Hedwig's leg.

**Headquarters**

Hedwig soared through the window and landed in front of the closest person which just so happened to be Snape. Hedwig held up her leg signaling that she needed him to remove the message. Snape untied the parchment from the owl, which he recognized to be Potter's owl, and walked out of the room to get Dumbledore to call a meeting. They were all wondering what the boy would answer them but they all knew him to be surprising.

He got Dumbledore to call the meeting and they headed down to the dining room where they held the meetings. Thirty people came to the meeting including Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

Sirius was practically bouncing. He loved writing to his godson and always found something surprising in the letters.

"I called everyone here to read Harry's response to the questions we asked him." Dumbledore said while unrolling the letter.

"He wrote: _Dear Order, To answer your first question, I do know the magic that he used." _There was surprise on practically everyone's faces as well as a couple of relived sighs. "_It was the Cruciatus Curse. But, he said the spell in Parseltongue which amplifies the amount of magic in the spell.-" _Dumbledore was about to continue when a new recruit from the Aurors spoke up.

"How does he know that? He is just a boy after all, why do we ever trust what he says to be true?" the man said.

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed and everyone near the new recruit looked away from the intensity. The man visibly gulped and Dumbledore said, "this 'boy' as you say has been through more than any of you can even dream in your worst possible nightmares and he has more than his fair share of those. Have you escaped Voldemort four times? Have you killed a basilisk? Have you fought a troll… a dragon….. merepeople…..giant spiders…. or a hundred dementors at once?"

"No" the man said with fear still in his eyes but now they had a mixture of awe in them as well.

"And all those trials did nothing to rid him of his loving heart and generous spirit. He is one of the kindest men I have ever meet." Finsished Dumbledore. "Now where were we?" He glanced down at the letter. "_This is known as Parsel magic which I am also training in. Bellona told me-" _He was cut off again but this time by Molly Weasley who was genuinely curious.

"Who is this Bellona?" Molly Weasley asked.

For that Dumbledore did not have an answer for. He looked at Sirius for he knew that he had regular contact with Harry.

"She's his snake." Sirius replied.

"He has a snake!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.

"He was lonely. He normally just has Hedwig there and he wanted someone that he could talk to. He has also been allowed out more and has made some muggle friends." Sirius replied in defense for his godson.

"Now that everything is in order, I would like to try and finished this." Dumbledore said while glancing around the room then down at the paper. "_Bellona told me about the origins and Voldemort's familiar, Nagini, is educated in the magic and is most likely the reason he has acquired that knowledge seeing as he was the leader of the elders before abandoning them to seek power in the dark side which is actually quite an interesting story. What you told me actually confirmed what I had already suspected." _

There was an agreement that they understood the new knowledge that they received. Dumbledore then continued to read the rest of the letter. "_As for your second question, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, I am not going to let Voldemort rule people's lives. People need to learn that they should continue their lives and if it takes me answering a few questions and shopping, then so be it. I will see some of you on Saturday. Sincerely yours, Harry J. Potter."_

There was a murmur of appreciation. Sirius looked ecstatic that he could see his godson. Remus too looked happy to see Harry again; they had not seen each other since his third year when Remus was a professor.

* * *

**Thursday June 13 7:00 p.m.**

Harry had already informed all his trainers that he was spending the day on Saturday with some of his father's friends. They all agreed that he needed a break. He trained harder than all of the students combined and never complained. Some people thought that he seems like he was getting ready for war, little did they know that he was doing just that.

He had just finished cleaning for the day and he made his way back to his house in a walk. He was about five minutes away from the center when he heard a voice behind him that he recognized as Parseltongue. He looked around the corner and saw Maddox, one of the snakes that was a part of the elders, having rocks tossed at him by Dudley's gang. He approached them.

"Stop." Harry said in such a commanding voice that they dropped their hands to see who would order them around. His voice seems to echo in the dark alley and power pulsed from his voice.

When they saw it was Harry they began to laugh. "Oh and I guess it's you who is going to stop us." Dudley said in a mocking voice.

"Yes." Harry said then he turned his attention to Maddox. "_Are you alright? Thissss issss my cousin's gang. Did they hurt you in any way?" _

Dudley and his gang stepped back in fright as Harry hissed and had a conversation with the snake. They did not move out of fear and after a couple of minutes Harry looked up and addressed them.

"You just attacked Maddox while he was asleep. Do you have any morals?" Harry asked.

"H-how do you k-know his name?" Dudley asked in a stutter that made Harry smirk which in turn made Dudley a little more fearful.

"I talked to him." Harry said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Dudley regained his composer and decided that he would have to show that he was not weak in front of his gang. After all, how much could a person change in a little over a week? This was the same person that they hunted down and beat up for fun. He said, "Well if you think you are so cool, fight us." Dudley said which a smile that said he knew that he was going to win.

"Fine." Harry said in a relaxed calm but he was truly nervous. This would be the first time that he had to put his martial arts training and gymnastics to work.

Dudley took the first swing which Harry flipped out of the way for using a standing tuck. He then returned the blow which hit Dudley square in the face.

Dudley got over his face quickly and moved to kick Harry in the stomach but Harry caught his massive foot in his hand and twisted it so his face was facing away from him and down at the floor. Harry then pushed his foot which caused him to fall embarrassingly to the ground.

He stood up as quickly as he could considering his weight and tried to kick Harry's legs out from under him but Harry jumped in the air.

Harry then took it in his turn to say, "Have you had enough yet?"

"Just you wait Potter. Gang. Attack him!" Dudley replied.

It then turned into a full-out street fight of six against one. The six would try to find some sort of weakness in his defense. They would find one and manage to get a kick or punch.

Thirty minutes later, Harry was walking away from the street with Maddox wrapped around his neck. He got a long cut on his arm that was bleeding and a bruise that was forming on his stomach. There were numerous bruises down his arm and one on his right eye. These were normal for him since he started training and getting simple injuries so he always had some potion at how to heal them.

Maddox was going to stay with Bellona in her cage since it was plenty big enough. Harry was taking care of him until his injuries went away and that would probably only take a day.

After everything got settled he took out one of his enjoyment books, which in this case was his father's journal. So far he had read all about his childhood up until Hogwarts and was beginning to read about his school years. He read about how he became friends with Sirius on the train and how they later became friends with Remus and Peter. He read about finding out about Remus being a werewolf and how they were determined to become Animagi for him. He even read about some of the pranks that they pulled and he found some ways to improve them. He finished up to fifth year when he looked over at the clock and it read eleven thirty. He placed his book on his nightstand and got up to get changed. He changed into a pair of blue plaid pajama bottoms and climbed in the bed where he fell into a fitful sleep. He was in a camp with a hundred men all bowing down to a thrown which seated a snake-faced man.

"Now my loyal followers," said Voldemort, "it has reached the day when we must take over the world." Applause rang over the crowd. "The dementers have joined the cause and allowed those of you who were there to break free." Another applause rang but was quieted when Voldemort yelled "SILENCE!" everyone stopped in a heartbeat and Voldemort continued, "We must take out place in the world. But, I must first think of a plan to begin…"

The scene faded out and Harry was left panting in his bed. He quickly got up since it was around four and he would never have a chance to fall back asleep. He went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face and bleeding scar.


	3. Diagon Alley Adventure

**Chapter Three: Diagon Alley Adventure**

**Saturday June 16 6:00 a.m.**

Harry got up and changed into an emerald green v-neck t-shirt and faded skinny jeans. He slipped on his combat boots that reached a little above his ankle and were dark black dragon skin. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was about 5'6'' and was tan from running and relaxing in the sun. His hair was raven-colored as always but now the mess look only added to the sexiness. Sometimes he wondered why his hair never grew but he passed it off as magic. His bangs swept across his face in a perfect arch allowing his famous scar to be visible. His eyes were more piercing than ever and they twinkled when he was happy. His teeth were pure white and contrasted perfectly with his darkened skin. His arms were getting larger but nowhere near the strength that he needed. His v-neck allowed the head of his dog tattoo to be visible. The shirt hung close to his frame showing off the beginnings of his lightly-sculpted six-pack. His faded skinny jeans showed off his not-so-scrawny legs. His legs were in fact well muscled and looked amazing in his tight pants. His combat boots were slug on his feet and laced lazily up which added to sexiness as well. Bellona, refusing to be left alone with his crazy relatives, was draped around his neck. Overall, he looked total different than sixteen days ago when he first arrived at home.

When he was finished getting ready, he walked to Mrs. Figg's house and used her fireplace to floo to Headquarters. He stepped out gracefully for once and saw that Remus, Sirius and Snape were standing there alongside Dumbledore.

It didn't take long before Sirius swept him up in a hug. Harry returned the hug immediately and when they separated, Sirius looked for the first time at his godson.

"You've changed." Sirius said bluntly.

"Thanks. I guess..." Harry replied uncertainly.

Then for the first time, Sirius noticed the dog tattoo. "You got a TATTOO!" Sirius thundered partly excited partly angered.

"Oh you saw that, did you?" Harry replied sheepishly. When no one replied he continued. "Well the man in the shop at Diagon Alley gave me a potion to drink to see if I was destined to have a tattoo, you know. And well I got four." He finished the last part quietly but everyone still heard him. They also understood how rare it was to be destined to have a tattoo; they understood that it gave them power.

"Well let's have a look, shall we?" asked Remus speaking for the first time.

Harry then pulled down part of his shirt to reveal the shaggy dog. This put an extremely bright smile of Sirius's face. They looked at it for a minute before Harry turned around and pulled off his shirt. On his toned shoulders was a medium-sized werewolf whose body was on left shoulder blade. It moved toward his neck and his head was around the nape of his neck. This time it was Remus's turn to smile and tears filled his eyes. After a moment, Harry pulled his shirt back on and turned around. He opened his left palm to show the stag. When they saw what it was, Remus and Sirius both whispered "Prongs" at the same time. Harry then turned his hand around and moved to his right hand. On his wrist, there was the red and emerald lily.

When he was done there was an awkward pause that was filled with a gasp from Remus. Everyone turned to look at him.

"That's Bellona?" Remus asked.

"Yeah." Harry replied then he turned to the snake in question and said to _her "Why don't you come ssssettle on my arm becausssse I think that they are ssscared of you? And you sssshould probably not come with me ssshopping either." _

Bellona slid down his arm and looped around his biceps twice while resting the rest of her body down his arm and rested her head on his hand and hissed back _"That would probably be wise, I'll probably go talk to the other ssssnakesss in the back garden when you leave."_

Harry replied "_Yesss, that'd be great. Thank you."_

During the entire hissing conversation, everyone looked awkwardly on, so when Harry finished and looked up a small blush covered his face and he said "Bellona thinks she is going to talk to the other snakes in the back garden when I leave."

"Now that you are done with that fascinating story, why don't you go with Mr. Lupin here to Diagon Alley. I'm sure the whole world is on pins and needles waited to see what you are going to purchase and what you are going to answer to their questions." Snape spoke, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I guess we should go and get this over with." Harry replied in a dejected tone ignoring the sarcastic remark.

Harry said good-bye to his godfather with a promise to talk to him once he got back from shopping. He then flooed with Remus, as he wished to be called, to the Leaky Cauldron.

They stepped out into the bar which held only a few people. When they walked into view, the whole room got quiet then the whispers were back and louder than ever.

Harry whispered to Remus "This feels just like second year when people thought I was the Heir of Slytherin and last year when they thought I was someone who cheated their way into the Tournament."

"Don't worry, we don't have to do this for long. Sorry, but this is actually just the beginning. These people are going to be the ones that will contact the reporters most likely." Remus replied.

They walked through the crowd of people and made their way to Gringotts. Harry approached the front of the line and spoke in prefect Goblinese "Hello kind sir, my name is Harry Potter and I would like to have access to my accounts." The goblin looked momentarily shocked but got over it quickly and replied "We have been told that someone has honored us and has received our magic. It has been an honor to meet me and I'll personally lead you to your vaults." He bowed and led them to the cart.

Remus, who was told everything by Sirius with Harry's permission, was still somewhat surprised to hear the goblin language and to see a goblin bow. He climbing onto the cart and they stopped at his inheritance fault first where he got galleons for shopping and had some galleons converted into muggle money for when at home; he had bought a iPod which he used when running and at the gym. He then went into the Potter Vault where he got three new books: _Merlin the Multi-animagus, What does muggle fighing have to do with a wizard's duel?, _and _1001 need-to-know household charms and tricks. _He also picked up another weapon: another sword which belonged to his great-grandfather. For some reason, having one sword in his hand made Harry feel uncompleted or unbalanced. He had the books and sword moved to a room at the Leaky Cauldron that they rented for the day.

They stepped out of the bank and were greeted by ten photographers and ten more reporters accompanying them. They were met with a bombardment of questions until Harry raised his right hand and called their attention.

"I will answer as many questions as I can but you need to ask them one at a time. You first." He said and indicated to a small man to the right of him.

"Do you believe it is safe to be out during these dark times?" the man asked and the quick quotes quills were moving.

"I believe that fear is Voldemort's greatest weapon. If people chose to live their lives cooped up at their homes then they are playing into Voldemort's hands. I believe that dark times are upon us but when we stand together, the light will shine and overpower that of the dark." Harry replied.

"What do you suggest we do?" a middle-aged lady asked.

"I don't want you to forget that these are dark time but I want you to continue to live just be more cautious." Harry replied.

The questions about the war continued and Harry answer them as best he could. The photographers were working nonstop to take images of the light icon and his new image.

When the war questions ended, they begin asking more ridiculous questions.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" a woman in her early twenties from Teen Witch asked.

"No, I don't." Harry replied confused.

"Are you aware that Remus Lupin, who is accompanying you, is a werewolf?" one reporter asked who looked rudely at Remus with discontent.

Fire blazed in Harry's eyes and he replied in a cold voice "I am perfectly aware that he is a werewolf but since I do not see a full moon around I see no reason he is more dangerous than you or me. Werewolves are just like other people, they just have a furry problem once a month." He then took a calming breath and resumes the questions.

"Is it true that you were the youngest Quidditch player in a century?"

"Yes, I became the Gryffindor seeker in my first year."

"Is it true that you have faced You-Know-Who four times and lived to survive?"

"I encountered when I was one and have fought him when I was eleven, twelve, and this year when I was fourteen. Obviously I survived." Harry said this with a laugh which was contagious and caused some of the people to let out chuckles.

"Is it true that you killed a basilisk?" asked another reporter when the laughter subdued.

"I don't know how you find this out" Harry said while shaking his head in amusement, "but yes, I did kill a basilisk when I was twelve. It was in fact Salazar Slytherin's familiar from inside the Chamber of Secrets."

With that last question he walked into Flourish & Blotts and walked to the Defense Against the Dark Arts section. He had already finished learning and reviewing all seventh year and below material. He also was on his second extra defense book that he bought earlier. To make sure that he would always have something on the subject to read he bought two more defense books which incorporated muggle fighting with wizardry duels.

He then walked over to family histories. He bought a book which would show you how to find your family history with a blood test and a potion. He was curious to see anything about the Potter family after going into his vault. It looked like the Potters were comprised of fighters; there were many different swords and personal books on fighting techniques.

He also bought a blank wizard journal which would magically continue with the pages when the first pages ran out. He would use this to start his own journal for the Potter family, like all of the Potter heads before him.

He then went to the unusual magic section which had cobwebs and dust layer on top of it; it was easy to see that many people were not interested in magic that they did not know or think they have. He bought four books for that section. The first book, _What Power Lies Beneath, _was a way to see what talents and magic that you have at the present moment, but it would not tell you what magic you _could_ have so many younger students didn't think about taking the test. The second book was a book on wandless magic. In the summary, it said that many strong wizards can do simple spells without a wand but nothing special. It was only said that Merlin could do complex spells and curses without his wand. He bought this after the strange happens in his Parsel Magic class. The third book was on magical Animagi. It was fairly small since only five people before him were said to have magical Animagus forms. The fourth book took more searching to find but it was on Parsel history written in Parseltongue which could have been written by Salazar Slytherin; it was large but only people with the ability could be able to read it.

During this time, Remus told Harry that he was going to rest in the Leaky Cauldron since the full moon was tomorrow and he was getting tired with all the shopping. Harry felt happy that Remus would think he was responsible enough to look after himself.

Harry went and bought the books. When he exited the store, he felt an unusual chill for a June day. He looked up and saw the reason why, two hundred dementers were coming toward Diagon Alley.

People, including the reporters, did not even have a chance to run before the dementers were upon them. It was then that Harry realized that none of them could perform a Patronus.

He stepped into the middle of the alley and raised his wand. He thought the happiest thought he could think of and yelled "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

But, instead of only a stag coming out of his wand, there were eight animals. The first was the stag, which was standing proud next to Harry. The second was a werewolf that was charging along the alley pushing the dementers away from the crowd. The third was a shaggy dog that was playfully batting away the dementers at the opposite end of the crowd. Then there was the griffin. It was the biggest patronus of them all and was flying through the air chasing the dementers even farther away. The fifth was an owl that was flying alongside the griffin swopping back and forth across the back of the griffin. The sixth was a unicorn that was trotting along the alley helping bring happiness to those that were shaking from the experience of their worst thoughts. The seventh was a panther that was stalking along the walls, scaring away the dementers that were hiding in the shadows. The eighth was the cobra. It sliding along the ground helping out when needed while sliding through the crowd of people.

When all the dementers were gone, the eight animals: stag, werewolf, dog, griffin, owl, panther, unicorn, and cobra, moved to stand in front of Harry. He thanked them before sending them away.

It was then that he heard popping noises from behind him. He raised his arm and took a fighting stance before he realized that it was aurors sent to help the attack. Harry then backed away from the crowd that was still staring at him and half walked, half ran back to the Leaky Cauldron. He came to the pub where he saw Remus talking to Tom and another man. He heard the end of their conversation before cutting in.

"-and when everyone thought that they were doomed, he came out and pointed his wand to the sky and shouted the incantation. No one was expecting to see a corporal patronus. He may be Harry Potter but not many adults can come up with more than wisps. Anyway, there were eight animals that came out of this wand. The one, a stag I believe, stood by him the whole time. The other seven, I think there was a griffin, snake, unicorn, and some others, chased away all the dementers. I left after before the auror team came up." The man said.

"Hello." Harry said before sitting down next to Remus as though nothing happened. "I got all my shopping done."

"Harry, was there some sort of accident outside today?" Remus asked, trying to sound light hearted but failed miserably to conceal his concern.

"Oh, well, there were dementers, about two hundred but I got them so there is no need to worry, everyone is safe now." Harry replied while taking a sip of Pumpkin juice that Tom had just put in front of him.

"Okay…" Remus didn't know what to say, he thought that he should not have left him and he wanted to know more about what had happened and he got his wish when the head auror came into the bar and saw Harry. He walked over to him.

"Hello. My name is Winston Thather. Are you to thank for what happened today?" Winston asked.

"Yes sir." Harry replied.

"Well I thank you. Do you mind answering a few questions for the aurors and myself as to what happened? And please call me Winston."

"Not a problem, is it Remus?" he turned and saw Remus shaking his head.

"Great. We are just out in the street if you would follow me." Winston replied while smiling down at the young man in front of him. He was not originally in awe of Harry Potter because he did not believe the stories about him but after what some people told him today, he was thoroughly impressed and began to second guess the young man beside him.

Harry exited and walked out in the street next to Winston. They walked to a group of twenty auror members and stood in front of them. Harry felt out of place but smiled all the same at the men in front of him.

"This is Harry Potter. He was the single man responsible for saving over three hundred people during the dementers attack today. I, for one, want to hear what he did to charge away that many dementers." Winston said while the rest were looking at Harry in wonder.

"I was here today to shop and prove that it was safe to be out in public. I had to answer a few publicity questions and the like." Harry said while rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I felt the cold of the dementers a minute before it happened. In that minute, I conjured my patroni. I have a stag, werewolf, dog, griffin, owl, panther, unicorn, and snake. For the next five minutes, I lead my patroni around to scare off dementers while keeping Prongs at my side." Harry replied.

"How long have you been able to produce a patronus? Or should I say Patroni?" one man said.

"I was taught in my third year at Hogwarts. I actually had to drive away a hundred dementers that year too." Harry replied with a laugh that caused some to laugh nervously.

"And you said 'Prongs'?" another man said.

"My stag patronus" Harry replied with a smile and a far way look.

"You name your patroni?" One man asked in humor.

Harry's smile disappeared."Well each person has a reason that their patronus takes the shape of something. Each of my animals is significant to me in some way, you don't have to know the reasons." Harry replied coldly.

"Well I believe we took enough of Mr. Potter's time." Winston said while leading Harry away.

When they arrived at the pub, Winston shook Harry's hand and thanked him. He then said "I'll make sure that the Ministry knows what you did today." He then walked away.

When Harry into Headquarters with Remus, the owl that delivered the nighttime Daily Prophet was already there. The entire order was there and wanted to see what the reporters made of Harry's trip to Diagon Alley.

Harry and Remus entered the room and sat down. Dumbledore than opened the paper and began reading the paper out loud:

_**Defender of Diagon Alley**_

_**Harry Potter Defends Diagon Alley against a Dementer Attack!**_

_Today in Diagon Alley, over two hundred dementers swarmed the shopping center. People, including myself, were running around in a mad dash to escape the attack. There is only one thing that is effective in fighting an attack such as this: the Patronus Charm. This charm is a very high level of magic that few grown adults can complete. When effective it produces an animal that is significant to the user. It effectively charges away the dementers. Unfortunately, no adult in the crowd could produce that high level of magic. _

_Just when people thought that all hope was lost, a lone beacon of hope shown through in the darkness. That beacon of hope was none other than Harry Potter, the Boy-who-Lived. _

_He cast the charm and produced not one, but eight animals! His patroni were a stag, werewolf, dog, griffin, owl, unicorn, panther, and cobra. _

_Seven of his animals went to help ward the dementers away while the stag, which reporters later claim he referred to as "Prongs," remained at his side protecting and comforting him. _

_He was able to drive off all two hundred dementers and everyone in the crowd remained safe. Later, he had to report to the aurors about the attack but I think it is safe to say that there is a Defender of Diagon Alley by the name of Harry Potter. _

In the article were three pictures. The first picture showed Harry raising his wand and shouting the incantation. Eight animals came from his wand and went in different directions to help the crowd. The second picture was of him facing in front of the animals smiling and sending all the animals away. The third was a picture of him talking to the twenty aurors.

"Well when I told you to make yourself known this wasn't exactly what I meant." Dumbledore finished reading the paper out loud and now had twinkling eyes and was smiling at Harry.

"Sorry sir, I didn't mean to make a new name for myself. Apparently now I am Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived-to-be-the-Defender-of-Diagon-Alley." Harry replied with a matching twinkle in his eyes.

After Harry said that, Sirius came up and hugged him and whispered in his ear "I'm just glad you were safe. By the way, nice patroni."

He then pulled away from the hug and Harry smiled and laughed. He then walked away to let the order discuss the news. He walked into the garden with Sirius and they sat down to talk.

Bellona slid onto his lap along with a snake that he had never seen before. Sirius asked who the other snake was. Harry did not reply, instead he asked the snake.

"_Who are you? Are you a friend of Bellona?" _Harry asked.

"_I am her sssson. Issss it okay if I come home with you. I thought I had losssst her." _The new snake pleaded.

"_What isssss your name?" _

"_Norman." _

"_Well, Norman, I would love to take you home. I'm happy that you were able to find your family." _Harry replied.

Harry then looked up at Sirius and said "This is Norman. Bellona just told me that she found her son. He is now going to come home with me."

"That's fine. I actually wanted to talk to you about what was going on with you this summer." Sirius replied.

"Oh. Well I don't have my griffin Animagus form yet but Bellona says next time I practice with her I will have it. Then, I'll move onto my owl. Bellona also said that it would be easier after the first transformation, I just have to keep the animals separate. I wonder how Merlin did it? Anyway, I have also completed all seventh year and below material in DADA and started on the extra books. I finished reviewing Potions and Charms up to third year. I have finished reviewing up to fourth year in all the other subjects. And as for the muggle training, I am extremely pleased with the progress." Harry said.

"That's amazing! I can't wait for you to become an Animagus! It would be a lot of fun! I wonder if Remus would let you stay during full moons with us." Sirius said.

"That would be fun but maybe I should wait until I get a smaller form first. Maybe I could stay as a panther?"

"Yeah that would probably be good. But, to more fun stuff…. I have to come up with a nickname for you, other than Pronglet." Sirius said with a wink.

"Okay. But it will be hard to combine all my forms." Harry replied with a smirk.

"I'll have to think about it…hmmm…how about Aeroterra; it's a combination of air and earth in Latin. We could just call you Aero for short." Said Sirius.

"Sounds good to me." Harry replied smiling.

They talked about all the fun and training that Harry was having for a while before Remus came in the garden and told them that the Order would like to speak with Harry about something.

He stood up and walked to the dining room where they were having the meeting. He had a snake curled around each bicep. He walked between the two Maurders with a smile on his face.

He entered the room and Dumbledore greeted them warmly. Harry sat next him with Sirius on his other side and Remus across from him.

"Harry, my boy, the Ministry of Magic was most impressed by what you did today. I know that you were doing that you thought was the normal thing to do but it was, none the less, very heroic. They wish to award you the Order of Merlin Second Class on August second." Dumbledore told Harry.

Harry, who did not care much for the Ministry after he found out that they threw Sirius in prison without a trial, just shrugged his shoulders and said "Okay."

Dumbledore smiled in amusement at the bewildered and angry look on the young man's face and said "Now Harry I know you are not particularly fond of the Ministry but it would do good for our cause for you to represent the light and create a, how did the paper but it, 'beacon of hope' for the people. I know that this is a lot to ask of you but I need to ask you to attend the ceremony. I, of course, will go with you for support but I am afraid that no one else" Dumbledore looked at Sirius "would be allowed to come."

"I'm fine." Harry said with a smile but in true he was beginning to feel the weight of the prophesy and feel the weight of being the light icon along with Dumbledore. When he was in the muggle world he would lose himself in his training and would somehow forget everything but his determination to be stronger and more powerful. But, when he was in the magical world, the weight was placed back on his shoulders.

"Now that everything is settled, how are you?" Dumbledore asked while standing and motioning for Harry to follow him to the sitting room.

Harry followed and when he reached the plush chair across from Dumbledore he said "I don't know. I feel find in the muggle world because I can somehow forget what is going on out there. But, in the magical world I feel burdened and…. Sadness. I think 'why me? Why does everything horrible have to happen to me?' I feel I have to put up a mask to keep everyone happy because if my mask falls then so does everyone's spirits." Harry said. He did not know why but I felt he needed to get everything off his chest. No matter how much he loved Sirius, he didn't want pity. He knew that Dumbledore would never pity him because he had gone through this before. He had to defeat another Dark Lord but one that was nowhere near as powerful as Voldemort.

Dumbledore answered him by whispering, _"in pace, ut sapiens, aptarit idonea bello."_

"Sorry sir but what was that?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore smiles warmly at him. "In peace, like a wise man, he appropriately prepares for war. " Dumbledore translated. "I know you have been training for the war Harry. As much as it pains me to see you lose your childhood, I fear that you were never much of child." He smiles sadly. "I want you to keep training. You do not have to hide anything from me. Better yet, let me help you. I have a wealth of knowledge myself along with a vast amount of books that you can borrow. I don't want you to feel like you have to shoulder this burden alone, Harry. Everyone here loves you and wants to help you. Let them." Dumbledore finished while getting up out of his chair.

"Thank you sir." Harry said. He truly meant what he said. What Dumbledore had said had helped to ease his burden. He still felt entirely too much to be comfortable but he was somewhat relieved.

"Now let's go back to the kitchen. I have a feeling that Molly will want to fatten you up some before you return home." Dumbledore's customary twinkle was back when he heard Harry groan.

They entered the kitchen and to none of their surprise, Mrs. Weasley was in there waiting for Harry to return. There were also around ten order members including Sirius, Remus, Snape, and Professor McGonagall.

"Harry dear, your looked better than you normally do around this time but still too thin." Mrs. Weasley said. Harry looked down at his emerald v-neck shirt but saw not a skinny boy but the beginning of a lightly sculpted six-pack. He shrugged his shoulders as she made her way to the kitchen to fix his a plate full of food that even three of him could not possibly eat.

Harry sat down next to Remus and across from Sirius. Sirius smiled and said "Remus, I would like to introduce you to Aeroterra." He then gestured to Harry.

"You thought of a name already. He couldn't possibly have finished yet. I mean it took you guys two and a half years. Nice name though." Remus replied.

"No, I'm not done but my this time next week I will be for my first and then the other four by my birthday." Harry replied with a smile.

"Wow! Well I guess we'll have to induct you in soon." Remus replied.

"Oh, I totally forgot! Don't worry Harry, it'll be great." Sirius exclaimed.

"Okay." Harry answered skeptically but he couldn't say more because Mrs. Weasley had placed a mountain of food at his place setting. She then said "Now I want to see all this food gone before you can leave this table, young man."

Harry's eyes grew comically large and was about to protest but Mrs. Weasley cut him off by saying "No buts."

"Yes Mrs. Weasley." He said in a dejected tone.

By now everyone at the table was laughing at the exchange, except for Snape who held a smirk on his face in obvious amusement, and Harry tried to stop them with a glare which in turn only made them laugh harder.

Harry realizing it was a lost cause, stuck his fork in the pie and took a bite. It tasted good and he ate until he was full but there was still a mountain of food on his plate. He thought over his situation carefully before raising his left hand and pointing it at the food.

He pointed his index finger from his left hand at the food and whispered "wingarduim leviosa." The food rose in the air about an inch. He then moved his hand and dumped the food on Sirius's unsuspecting plate.

He looked around the table to see if anyone had noticed him. His eyes landed on Snape who was looking at him in confusion. When their eyes meet, Snape's eyebrows rose in an arch but Harry only returned the gesture with a knowing twinkle and smirk worthy of a Slytherin which together was a weird combination. It was obvious that Snape knew only powerful wizards could do wandless magic like that.

It was then that Mrs. Weasley came back in the room to check on Harry. She praised him for eating all his food and offered him seconds which he politely declined.

When she left, Sirius looked down at his plate for the first time and saw the mountain of food that wasn't there before. He took one look at it and then looked up at Harry's seemingly innocent face.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked innocently.

"You moved your extra food on my plate, didn't you?" Sirius asked amusedly.

"Maybe" Harry replied and they both smiled.

When Harry returned that night he felt extremely happy. He got a chance to see Sirius and Remus. He talked to Dumbledore and shared with him some of his accomplishments. He did not feel that he had to hide anything anymore. He even got along somewhat with Snape though he still believed him to be a git.

He walked home that night feeling complete and ready to begin his training again. Before he left, Dumbledore even promised to give him so special training when school started.

Harry walked up to his room and took out the journal that he bought. He opened it to the first page and wrote his name in his untidy script. He then flipped to the next page where he wrote the date at the top.

_Dear Journal, _

_This is my first time ever writing anything in a journal before. I figure that I will start off where my father left off. My father, James Potter, days after his last entry, was killed by Lord Voldemort. I was one at the time but when it came time for Voldemort to hit me with the curse, my mother's love saved me. The killing curse bounced off me and left me with a scar while Voldemort vanished. _

_But, with both my parents dead, I had to leave with my next living relatives for my safety. Unfortunately for me, my next remaining relatives were the Dursley's. That is, Petunia, my mom's sister, and her husband, Vernon, and their child, Dudley. I grew up knowing nothing of my history; I still don't know a lot of family history to be honest. _

_For the next ten years, I lived in the cupboard under the stairs. By the time I was eleven, I was literally just a house elf. I lived only to clean and cook and fix the garden. I barely got any food and never celebrated a holiday or birthday. _

_Then, the most amazing thing happened and I found out I was a wizard. Hagrid came and got me from my house and took me to the magical world. I got my first ever birthday present in Hedwig, my pet owl. She is an amazing snowy owl that understands me even when no one else does. _

_In my first year at Hogwarts, I met Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger who are my best friends. They are like a brother and sister to me. Together that year we fought a troll that was lead into the building and we became best friends ever since. The year progressed and I became the century's youngest Quidditch player. I joined the team as the seeker. That year we also had to help Hagrid smuggle a Norwegian Hidgeback named Norbert out of the castle which resulted in us getting a dentition in the Forbidden Forest. In the forest I was warned by a centar about Voldemort's plan to obtain something in the castle. The three of us soon began an adventure. We discovered that the school was housing the sorcerer's stone and we believed that was the object that someone was going to steal. We had to get passed a three-headed dog named Fluffy (one of Hadgrid's pets), Devil's Snare, and I had to fly through the air to capture a winged key. We then had to make our way passed a troll which was already knocked out. We made our way to a life-sized chessboard that Ron led us through to get to the other side. In the process, Ron because unconscious so after Hermione solved the potion riddle, she took him back to the entrance and I was left on my own. I entered the room and saw my DADA teacher talking to the Mirror of Erised. To keep things short, I killed the professor and Voldemort escaped again but I was left unconscious from the effort. _

_The next year, my second year, I was held back with Ron from entering the platform. I later found out it was a house elf named Dobby who was trying to prevent me from going to Hogwarts because he believed that there was a danger there. But, Ron and I did not stop because we could not get to the train. We flew an enchanted car to Hogwarts and landed in the Whomping Willow. That year, I began to hear voice. I listened closely and was always lead to the middle of a crime scene where people turned up petrified. Later during a Dueling Club I found out why; I was hearing snakes in the halls- I am a Parseltongue. And no matter what you have heard it is not abilities that make us who we are, it is our choices. Anyway, with Hermione's help (she was petrified at the time but held a paper that told us the answer), Ron and I found out that it was a basilisk in the plumbing that was doing the killing. It was living in the Chamber of Secrets and we heard the teachers saying that the monster took Ginny, Ron's younger sister, into the chamber. We went down into the chamber that we found in the second floor girls bathroom (with the help of Aragog, a giant spider, from the Forbidden Forest, who almost killed us) with the DADA professor. He tried to obliviate us and ended up sending the curse onto himself. Ron stayed back when rocks went in the way of our path and only I could get through. I learned that Tom Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort, was behind the attacks from a memory in a diary. He was possessing Ginny. I had to kill the basilisk and Tom before Ginny woke up. In the process, I had basilisk blood running through me and was in immense pain that I never told anyone about. Fawkes, Dumbledore's Pheonix came and healed me with his tears and I took Ginny out of the Chamber. _

_My third year was by far my greatest. It was not very eventful until the end. But, during the year I learned how to cause a Patronus charm from Remus Lupin, who at the time was our DADA professor. At the end of the year, I met Sirius Black who I, along with the rest of the magical world, believed to be a mass murderer. But, he was innocent of all charges. I helped him escape using a time turner and by warding away over a hundred dementers. It was possibly my greatest moment of my life to realize that I had a godfather who cared about me even if I only got to spend a little time with him._

_My fourth year was the worst year of my life. I was called to participate in the Triwizard Tournament as a fourth competitor. But, I was only fourteen, and still am fourteen. My competition were in their seventh year. I found out later that it was a death eater that put my name in the cup so that they could in the end lure me away and use my blood for a ritual to bring Voldemort back into human form. But, to begin with, I had to fight a Hungarian Horntail in the first task. In the second task, I had to swim under the water for an hour, fighting off merepeople and water demons to rescue 'what I would miss the most' which turned out to be Ron. But, I wanted for everyone to collect their people before going to the shore because I did not want anyone to not be saved, little did I know that they would be safe anyway. I ended up placing second in that task whereas I placed first in the last. The third task was a maze with a cup at the end that the winner would touch. When I reached the cup with Cedric Diggory, I told him to take the cup with me. When we did, we discovered that it was a portkey. It led us to Voldemort. Cedric died right away. I was chained to a tomb where I watched as he used my body to form one of his own. When then dueled and I escaped and brought Cedric's body back with me. _

_Now, it is the summer after all these events have unfolded and I am training. I just got back from Diagon Alley where I have been named "Defender of Diagon Alley" after I saved the alley from a dementer attack (I attached the paper to the next page). But, that is not important, what is important is my training. I thought maybe I could write what I have been doing in here. I'm going to try to write in this everyday to record my life so hopefully, if I die, that I will be remembered. _

_Sincerely, _

_Harry James Potter _

_(soon-to-be: Order of Merlin Second Class) _

Harry closed the journal and stripped down to his boxers and went to sleep.

**

* * *

**

Sunday June 17 10:00 a.m.

The Dursleys were just waking up while Harry was in the living room dusting like he was asked to do. Just as Uncle Vernon and Dudley entered the room so did a owls carrying different messages.

"What did I tell you about those ruddy birds!" Vernon yelled while taking all the letters and papers from the birds. "Why don't we read them aloud, shall we?"

Harry, who didn't want to get into a fight with his Uncle, sat down across from his Uncle while he opened the newspaper.

This uncle sat shocked for a minute before he asked "Why is your picture on the cover of this newspaper?"

"Just read." Harry replied.

His Uncle Vernon began to read the copy of the newspaper that was printed out again for a second time of his heroics. He then moved on to the Biography of Harry's life which was included in the paper and turned out to be accurate.

"You're famous." Dudley said in a disbelieving tone and Harry did not reply.

Uncle Vernon then took out the magazine next which happened to be Teen Witch and was sent by Hermione as the post-it attached said. Hermione wrote him saying that he should probably read the article.

The cover was a picture of Harry in the emerald v-neck shirt that he wore the day before. It showed him from the waist up. He looked over at himself. His hair was disheveled in a sexy windblown effect that showed his scar against his tan skin. His eyes were twinkling as he smiled and showed off his perfect white teeth. Also visible was the dog tattoo on his chest.

The cover showed the words "Teen's Most Eligible Bachelor." Harry was number one and another picture of him was located on the inside along with the picture of him fighting away the dementers.

It read:

**Most Eligible Bachelor: Harry James Potter **

_Harry has spent his life battling Dark Wizards and monsters. He has killed death eaters and basilisks alike but still manages to keep a sweet, sensitive side. He says when asked about being friends with a werewolf, "Werewolves are just like other people, they just have a furry problem once a month." _

_Besides being the Boy-Who-Lived and the Defender of Diagon Alley, he is also extremely handsome. His tan skin and windblown hair while sexy are nothing compared to those intoxicating emerald eyes. _

_His is the last remaining descendant of an ancient, powerful, and rich Noble House of Potter. He has rightfully claimed his title as master this past year. _

_His achievements include surviving the killing curse, youngest Quidditch player in a century, defender of the Sorcerer's Stone, killing a Basilisk, youngest winner of the Triwizard Tournament, and being titled Defender of Diagon Alley. We have also been informed that this sexy young man will be receiving the Order of Merlin Second Class for his defeat of over two hundred dementers. _

Uncle Vernon closed the magazine down on the table then moved to the third magazine on the table. He opened it and yet again found himself staring at a picture of Harry. This magazine featured a picture of Harry talking to all the Aurors. It also featured an article where Harry was portrayed as a light icon for the war. It showed his opinion on the war and quotes that were obtained yesterday.

After thirty minutes of Uncle Vernon silently reading all the wizard mail he received, he said "Care to explain?" He said it in a cold and dark voice that did not intimidate Harry.

All Harry said before taking his mail and leaving the room was "I went out yesterday and I'm famous."

Harry smirked at he saw the puzzled expression on his uncle's face as he exited the room. Harry knew that by tomorrow his uncle would have forgotten the whole thing and would continue to act cold to him.

**

* * *

**

Monday June 18, 7:00

Harry was in the gymnastics' room getting ready to practice a round off layout back handspring full. It was going to be the first time he attempts to complete something this big. He had already been able to do all the moves individually but he needed to be able to put them together.

He started off with a running start and threw his hands onto the mat with a push. He pushed his legs over his head and sprung backward. His feet pushed off the ground two consecutive times as he did two flips. He pushed his hands down on the floor for more speed and kicked his legs up. He then flipped backwards about to do the final twist when he fell and landed on his arm.

With a soft moan he realized that he broke his arm and he got up and made his way to Mark, his trainer. Mark realized what was wrong and drove him down to the hospital where they put him in a cast.

He went back to the center and realized it was ten o'clock already and made his way to Rebecca since he had already missed his martial arts training.

They practiced clearing his mind and he pictured the burrow. He was able to hold the image for thirty minutes. After that, he changed into a pair of burgundy swim trunks and put a plastic protection on his cast then began swimming laps in the pool. After an hour, he had swum over two miles.

He dried off and changed. He then made his way down the road with a sandwich in one hand and a huge water bottle in the other. He walked the half-mile to his house while he finished his sandwich. He walked up the stairs and began his wizard training. It was a relaxing break from working out. He found out last week that he could practice doing the spells wandlessly without being caught by the ministry. He knew that doing magic without a wand was meant to be rare but he felt just as confidant in his spells with a wand as he did without.

He took a quick shower and changing into a deep purple polo and jean shorts and walked over to the bookcase where he took out his fifth year transfiguration textbook. It was the material that he was meant to learn when he returned to school but he had already memorized the first through fourth year texts.

He opened the book and spent the next two hours reading about making inanimate objects come to life. For practice he shot the spell at a pen that was on his desk and made it dance across the surface. He then shot the spell at books and made then fly in the air. By the end of practice he was making everything dance and spin around him as he sat on the middle of the floor. When he had enough, he sent everything back to where it came from and got out his latest defense book: Defense 101. He read of two hours about the basis of defense which almost all of it he knew. It was pretty simple and pictured techniques that were used in battle and during individual duels. Harry had to focus on both because he knew he would have to fight Voldemort one-one-one but did not think that Voldemort was going to show up alone.

By the time it was five o'clock came around he was tired but he decided he could use the workout so he ran to the center. He got let out at seven and he jogged back to the house with renewed energy. Today was going to be the day that he starting reading about what kind of powers he might have.

He ran up the stairs and opened the book titled _What Power Lies Beneath, _and began to read.

"_Power is a strange thing. It can be manipulated and changed. It can grow but not recede. But mostly, power is a mystery. With these spells, you can discover the type of power that you hold now but remember that power maturity reaches at the age of fifteen. The spells will show you the power you now possess and it is wise to continue testing yourself to see how your power grows." _

The rest of the book went on to explain the spells and wand movements which were simple. Harry pointed his left index finger at himself and then swerved it to point at the paper before chanting "vox iam pario."

After a couple of seconds words began to form on the blank parchment. The parchment read:

_Multi and magical Animagus: griffin, owl, panther, unicorn, and cobra _

_Natural Master of Wandless Magic_

_Natural Master of Potions _

_Parseltongue and Parsel Magic _

_Goblin Magic _

_Metemorphagus abilities_

_Natural Charms Master _

_Natural Transfiguration Master _

The list ended and he stared at it for a minute before opening the book and reading about what it meant to be each of these.

He discovered that it was normal to have one or two things appear once your magic reached maturity at fifteen. After that some people continued to grow more powerful and would receive a few more talents. He was shocked for a moment because he had eight and he had not even reached maturity yet, but then he realized that he did not do anything by the rule book.

He then researched the different types of magic that he had. He already knew about being an Animagus but what surprised him was what being a natural master meant. It meant that training in the areas would come natural to him. There were a variety of things that you could become a master in. what surprised him was that no one could become a master in Defense Against the Dark Arts because there were many aspects to it.

When he got to Metemorphagus abilities he realized that it was slightly different from being a full Metemorphagus, like Tonks. Once trained he still could not change his body type, he could only change his hair length and color, nail length, and eye color.

Once he finished reading, he wrote in his journal what he had discovered along with the events that unfolded at the center. He fell into a peaceful sleep content and happy.


	4. Birthdays and Orders of Merlin

**Chapter Four: Birthdays and Orders of Merlin**

**Tuesday June 19, 1:00 p.m. **

Harry just got back from the center and was extremely excited to begin his Animagus training. Bellona was meant to meet him in a clearing about a half a mile from the house. Harry had just arrived and was panting from having a jog a mile to get there but he still smiled when he was the familiar figure of his snake, Bellona.

"_I ssssee that you are ready to begin training." _Bellona said.

"_Yessss. I am excited to do the full transformation." _Harry said without any attempt to conceal his excitement. He was practically bouncing. It was times like these when Bellona reminded herself that he was still a child.

"_Well begin with picture yourssself. Sssee a picture of yourssself in your mind just like you did when he began changing individual parts of your body. Now pull your magic out of your core and picture yourself changing into the griffin. Think of his wingssss and deep red fur." _Bellona said as Harry shut his eyes to begin the process.

In ten minutes, a giant griffin stood where Harry used to be. The griffin was eight feet tall and twelve feet long. He was brilliantly muscular. His royal red fur radiated among the clearing. His mane was silky black and gold and looked so much like Harry's hair it was almost funny. His eyes were blazing emerald. He then proceeded to extend his wings which were deep black and glossy. His wings reached a wingspan of twenty feet. He retracted his wings back and forth to get a feel for the movement. He then walked around the clearing. After five minutes of walking a running, he leaped into the air and flew around the clearing once before landing.

Bellona looked at him and hissed "_Now pull your magic out again and picture yoursssself changing into your human sssself." _

After five minutes, Harry stood again and was smiling madly. "That was AMAZING!" Harry yelled the last part, "I can't believe it. I know I read about it feeling natural and you could do everything that your form could do but to be able to fly with a broom…" He left the sentence hanging as he smiling.

They practiced for the rest of the two hours on moving from his griffin form to his human form. By the end, he could do it with a simple thought.

He jogged back to the house with Bellona around his neck. He reached the house in ten minutes and they went up to the room. Bellona slid back into her cage where she talked to Norman about the transformation.

Harry took out his Arithmancy book and read it for the next two hours. When he was done he felt like falling asleep but made his way to the center. He got back by 7:30 and he took out one of the books he got from the Potter family vault. It was a book on Merlin and his Animagi forms. He read a little about his experiences of completing the transformation. He finished the book and realized it was 11:00 so he set the book on the shelf that he kept his completed books and took out his journal. Ten minutes later, he placed his journal back on the nightstand and fell asleep.

**

* * *

**

Wednesday June 20, 7:30 p.m.

Harry just got back from the center and found the familiar gray and white owl sitting on the perch. When Harry came in the room the owl flew over and dipped affectionately at his ear.

Harry went over to his bed, sat down and stroked the owl affectionately for a couple of minutes. Then he got up lead the owl to the water bowl and gave him a treat. The owl hooted in response and waited until Harry wrote.

Harry opened the letter and read.

_Dear Aeroterra, _

_I haven't written to you since you got back from Diagon Alley and I wanted to see how you were doing. I also wanted to know how your transformation was coming. _

_Moony and I have decided to induct you into the Maurders. But it will have to wait until school starts to complete your goal. _

_Dumbledore said that he has ordered you appropriate robes to wear to the ceremony and they will be coming any day now. I wish I could be there for you as Padfoot but Dumbledore insists that I remain because it's a ministry function. _

_Anyway, I hope you are having fun and I can't wait to see you again! _

_Love forever from your Godfather, _

_Snuffles _

Harry placed the letter in his desk drawer where the collection of letters was pilling up. He took out a clean sheet of parchment and dipped his quill in black ink before writing.

_Dear Snuffles, _

_My transformation went great! I'm about eight feet tall and twelve feet long so I will definitely wait until I master a different form before accompanying you during the full moon with Moony. I love being in my form though; it feels like I am complete. It is the most amazing feeling to fly on your own in the sky. Of course, I can't go too far without having to put a disillusionment charm on, but I just feel so free. Do you feel this complete when you transform? _

_Anyway, thanks for warning me about the robes, I totally forgot about what I should wear though now I actually own some formal robes myself but I wouldn't know what to wear to an event like this. Send Dumbledore my thanks. _

_I wish that you could come too as yourself but until we can get the Ministry to believe your innocent, you will just have to continue to live in secret. Is there anything I can do to help you? I could try to fly over to Headquarters to see you sometimes, maybe on Sunday? It would be quite a long flight but if I left in the morning than I could probably spend the better part of the day down there. _

_I do have some things to tell you. Do you know about the book _What Power Lies Beneath? _Well, when I was reading it, I preformed the spell that tells you what powers you have at the present moment. I had eight and I haven't reached maturity. It's normal to have around two or three once you reach fifteen. What do you think is going to happen when I turn fifteen this summer? Do you remember what happened when you reached magical maturity? Did it hurt? What did your magic feel like? _

_Sorry for all the questions but I am curious to what is going to happen in a couple of weeks. _

_Besides that I am doing fine. I actually broke my right arm the other day when I was performing a round off layout back handspring full. The nurse said it would heal in a couple of weeks so I will be healed by my birthday. _

_I can't wait to see you, write me back if I can come over next Sunday. _

_Love from Your Godson, _

_Harry J. Potter _

Harry tied the letter to the gray and white owl's leg and the owl took off. He then made his way to the nearby basketball court where he was meeting some of his friends. They played a couple games and went it got too dark, they walked home.

Harry walked up to his room and stripped down to his boxers, throwing his clothes haphazardly on the floor. He climbed into bed and wrote in his journal before turning off his lamp and going to sleep.

**

* * *

**

Friday June 22, 4:00 p.m.

Harry laid spread out of his bed reading about Goblin Magic. He was clad in a white polo shirt, which was disheveled while on the bed and a pair of gray knit sweat pants that we rolled up to mid-calf.

He was learning how to write in Goblinese when there was a knock on the door.

"BOY! Answer the door!" Uncle Vernon yelled from the living room.

Harry climbed down the stairs slowly and opened the front door. There stood a person that he least expected to see: Snape.

"Hello sir." Harry said questioningly.

"Potter, the Headmaster has requested your presence today at the Order meeting. We will be leaving by floo." Snape said and he spun around on his heel before walked down the street to Mrs. Figg's house.

They flooed to Headquarters. Snape arrived first followed by Harry. When Harry entered the room he was greeted with a hug from both Sirius and Remus.

"Hi guys. What am I doing here?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. Dumbledore just sent Snape to get you. I guess we'll find out soon enough; the meeting is about to start." Sirius replied.

Ten minutes later they were all seated around a large table in the dining room.

"I will start this meeting by offering a new recruit." Dumbledore said which started people to talk amongst themselves. "Harry James Potter." With those three words the talking increased but a lone woman's voice stopped them all in their tracks.

"WHAT!" Mrs. Weasley yelled "HE'S JUST A BOY!"

"Now Molly," Dumbledore said in a soft voice "He may be young in years but if age were measured by experience than he would be older than myself."

"BUT HE CAN'T POSSIBLY GO ON MISSIONS! HE IS ONLY FOURTEEN!" Mrs. Weasley yelled back.

"No, he cannot participate in regular missions because he has a mission all his own that none of us can do for him." Dumbledore replied gravely while looking down at the shocked young man to his right. "Now, Harry, I wanted you to join the order so that you can receive information on death eater and Voldemort's whereabouts. It also seems that you have some unique knowledge all your own. You will meet with us whenever we have a meeting. I do not believe that we will have another before school begins. By that time, I will have started helping in your training. Is that alright with you?" Dumbledore responded.

"Yes…I just…thank you." Harry replied with a smile on his face.

"What task does he have to complete on his own, Albus?" Professor McGonagall spoke up in the silence, referring to what he spoke of earlier.

"That is for him to disclose with you." He then took a look at Harry who had a panic-stricken look on his face "But I believe that asking him can wait until he is comfortable with the task himself. Maybe the first meeting when school resumes."

Professor McGonagall nodded her head.

"I also believe that Harry could use Miss Tonk's help with something during that time. Am I correct, my boy?" Dumbledore asked.

"I don't think that I am more knowledgeable than you in anything." Tonks replied confused.

"Are you not a Metemorphagus?" Dumbledore replied with a twinkle in his eyes and a smile.

"I am, but-"She broke off her thought to stare at Harry and everyone did the same. He smiled then crossed his eyes while changing the color of them to light blue. He then crossed them again while changing them to brown.

He laughed and replied, "I just learned that trick today on my way back from the center. Anyway, I am not a full Metemorphagus like Tonks but I have some Metemorphagus abilities. But I still need some help to control them."

"What abilities?" Sirius prompted.

"I can only change my hair length and color, nail length, and eye color. But at least it's something. It actually helps explain why I never had to have haircuts growing up" Harry replied with a shrug.

"Was this one of the things you wrote to me about before?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah it was one of them." Harry replied.

"Okay, now that we have that settled. Let's start the meeting!" Dumbledore said and everyone sat down to listen. The meeting only lasted thirty minutes because there wasn't much news about death eater activity.

Sirius walked over to Dumbledore and they had a quiet conversation that Harry could not hear. It must have been something good because Sirius smiled brightly and practically skipped his way over to Harry.

When he got to Harry he said, "Dumbledore is going to let me stay at your house until Sunday. Isn't this exciting! I get to leave this hell-hole!" The last part he yelled out.

Harry laughed and said "Yeah that's great!"

They both made their way to the fireplace. Sirius then transformed into the shaggy dog and stood next to Harry in the fireplace. They flooed to Mrs. Figg's house and then walked down the street to Number Four Privet Drive.

When they made it up to Harry's room the first thing that Sirius said once he transformed was "You have a lot of books."

Harry laughed and replied "Yeah I do. But I have to have some way to train. The more knowledge I have, the easier the task will be for me in the end."

**

* * *

**

Saturday June 23, 3:00 p.m.

Sirius had followed Harry all day while he was training. He ran beside him to the gym and would sit in the corner of the room he was in to watch Harry as he worked out. He watched Harry do gymnastics and martial arts.

The most amusing thing for Harry was when ten snakes came into his room to teach him Parsel Magic. Sirius just about peed himself when they slide through the open window.

Sirius watched curiously for those two hours as Harry hissed at the snakes and then hissed something and preformed wandless magic. There was something about Harry hissing that wasn't scary.

Finally it came the time that he had been waiting for: Animagus training. They jogged down with Bellona to the clearing.

"Let's see this amazing Animagus form of yours." Sirius laughed.

Harry then made his way to the middle of the clearing. He then transformed into the majestic creature. Harry then lifted off the ground with two large swoops of his black wings. He flew around the clearing and landed. He then transformed into a human just in time to be embraced with a huge hug.

Bellona hissed something to Harry who replied in another hiss. He then explained to Sirius, "Bellona says I am ready to complete my second transformation: my owl form."

Before Sirius could reply Harry walked to the middle of the clearing again. He stood there for ten minutes before Sirius heard a pop and instead of Harry standing there, there was a black owl. It had no markings on it; it was pure black. It batted its wings up and down before flying across the clearing to land gently on Sirius's shoulders. It nipped at his ear playfully and took off to fly a couple of times around the clearing.

It landed down in front of Sirius and within two minutes it transformed back into Harry who was grinning from ear to ear.

"That was amazing! It was so easy to fly but flying in my griffin form was faster. But, that was just great! What did you think?" Harry asked Sirius.

Sirius was smiling, "That was great."

Bellona hissed something at Harry who nodded in agreement. Harry turned to Sirius and said "Bellona told me to continue practicing changing in and out of my owl form so that it can be just as easy as the griffin."

So, for the next two hours, Harry practiced changing in and out of his owl form until he could change with a simple thought, just like his griffin form.

Sirius, as Padfoot, walked beside Harry who had a snake wrapped around his hand. They walked back to the center so that Harry could do some cleaning before he walked back at 7:00 to Privet Drive.

When they got back, Sirius transformed back into himself and sat down happily on the bed.

"So, do you have any answers to the questions that I asked about earlier in the letter?" Harry asked while moving to sit across from him.

"Remind me of the questions again." Sirius said shyly while Harry moved to playfully punch him on the shoulder but Sirius ducked out of the way.

Harry laughed then replied, "First, when I read _What Power Lies Beneath _I found that I have eight powers right now and I am not even magically matured yet. What do you think is going to happen when I do reach magical maturity?"

Sirius smiled while saying, "Yeah I have read that book too. The Blacks were always obsessed with power so they would periodically have my powers tested. I had two powers after my fifteenth birthday and the next two years after that I gained two more. But to have eight is unheard of, especially since you are still fourteen. So, to be honest with you, I have no idea what is going to happen. We'll just have to wait and see."

"Do you remember your magical maturity? Did it hurt?" Harry asked.

"Yeah I remember it. At midnight I awoke to a pain in my stomach. It was enough pain to wake me up but it went away fairly fast, like within ten minutes."

"Okay, if that's all." Harry replied looking relived.

After that they talked about random things such as the pranks that Harry read from his father's journal. It was midnight by the time that they both feel asleep.

Harry lay across his bed with a foot dangling off the edge. He was wearing a white tanktop and navy blue sweatpants. Sirius was curled up at the bottom of the bed as Padfoot and had one of Harry's arms draped around his back.

**

* * *

**

Monday June 25, 12:30 p.m.

Harry was finishing up laps in the pool. After a while, Harry became just as comfortable in the water as he did in the sky. He looked forward to swimming and being in the water. He was beginning to feel more comfortable outside and in the elements.

He got out of the pool when he was finished and dried off. He walked to the changing rooms and took a quick shower. He then put his clothing back on. Today he was wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a forest green crew cut t-shirt.

He got out of the changing room and exited the center after saying goodbye to his friends. He put his ear phones in his ears which listening to his iPod. Today he was listening to The Maine. He took out his sandwich and sports drink from his bag and walked back to his house. He took a deep breath of the air around him and felt a smile grace his lips. He loved being outside after all the years of being locked up.

When he got home he went up the stairs and opened his transfiguration textbook. He was still working on his grade five textbook. During the hour he read about transfiguring a mammal into another mammal.

He turned to Hedwig and asked her, "hey girl. Do you think it's alright if I try it out on you. If the spell doesn't work I can always change you back?" Unknown to him but he was speaking in a mixture between hooting and talking, so it was a surprise to him when he could actual hear her response.

"_My Harry, is that you speaking the owl language?" _Hedwig replied.

"_Hedwig? What's going on?" _Harry asked just as startled.

Bellona decided to answer the question as obviously Hedwig did not understand. "_He obtained sssssome of the owl abilitiessss after his first Animagussss transsssformation." _

Harry turned to Bellona and hissed back "_but how come I did not receive anything from my griffin form?" _

"_Because you could only receive the abilitiesssss while in the animal form. You cannot keep the powerssss while in your human form. But, you can obtain abilitiessss for the regular animalssss. If I am not mistaken, you can receive other powers from the panther and cobra formssss." _

Harry, Bellona, and Hedwig continued to talk for time until Harry had to pick up his latest defense against the dark arts book. This one was helping him merge his martial arts training into his magical dueling.

**

* * *

**

Sunday July 1, 1:00 p.m.

Harry was lying outside in the grass in his backyard. He normally would have staying inside but lately he felt nature held a calming presence. In his lap he was reading letters from his friends. Hermione was in Bulgaria visiting Victor and wrote to him about learning other languages. He decided that that would be useful when consulting other light figures of different countries. He would have to ask Dumbledore about that when he got back to school. Hermione went on to talk about Bulgaria and everything she was learning. Harry felt himself yearning to learn about the magic as well and then he stopped himself. _Gosh, I'm sounding like a Ravenclaw. _He thought.

Next he opened Ron letters. He was ranting about how Victor Krum was no good and that Hermoine shouldn't be visiting him. He was spending his summer helping out at home and playing Quidditch. He was hoping to try out this year to be the keeper. When Harry asked what it felt like reaching magical maturity, Ron responded that it woke him up screaming and it lasted for about five minutes. He admitted that his mom had to help him that night.

After he read all his letters, he banished them to his room and summoned his Firebolt from his room. He disillusioned it before walking with it to the clearing that he used for Animagus training. He put up the usually wards to insure that no muggles would see before he hoped on his broom and pushed off.

He loved to feel the wind in his hair and he smiled. He then took off in a sharp steep upward so that he was practically vertical. When he reached about 50 feet in the air he followed the wind patterns to fly the faster that his broom could manage. Feeling daring, he stood up on his broom and only directed it using his feet. If someone were to see him it would look like he was surfing. He glided in the air on his feet doing dive after dive. He then jumped off the broom and did a back flip off his broom and landed in a sitting position and took off. He executed a perfect Wronski Feint and only getting out of the dive when he was two inches from the ground.

After three hours, he took down the wards with his hand and made his way back home. He took a nice, long, hot shower to loosen his muscles. When he got out of the shower he changed into a pair of light skinny jeans and a burgundy t-shirt.

It was only five o'clock so he decided to read more about Merlin's Animagus forms before making dinner for the family.

He cooked steak, a salad, fruit salad, and stuffed baked potatoes.

After the meal was over, he climbed up the stairs and changed into an owl and decided to sit with Hedwig. They talked until it was ten and then Harry changed back and wrote in his journal before falling asleep.

**

* * *

**

Friday July 6, 1:00 p.m.

Harry had just finished reading about Occlumency from all his books. He discovered that it helped that he was meditating but that was not the only thing that he had to do. He had to sort through all his memories and create a sort of library where he could organize them. Once he was done organizing them, whenever someone tried to get into his mind then they would see the picture of the burrow while the library was kept hidden inside. Meditation was good because it let him get into his own mind easier to organize it.

By the time the two hours were up, Harry was exhausted. He had sorted through all his memories to one side of the library. They were broken up into his time before Hogwarts and then each year after. On the other side of the library, he set up all his knowledge. It was much like the Hogwart's library because it was broken up into different sections based on the subject. He found that once he read a book, he had to organize everything himself so he would have to continue to do the exercise each night before he went to bed.

But, the wonderful thing about his organized mind was that he could store information away easier and could remember facts quicker. Those facts only made him want to learn more.

**

* * *

**

Friday July 27, 1:00 p.m.

It had been three weeks since Harry first started his library in his mind and now it was full of information. In transfiguration he completed all up to sixth year material. He also had mastered all of his forms. He ended up gaining the stealth of the panther and the slyness of a cobra. In his mind he also had the books on the multi and magical Animagi.

He had the most knowledge in DADA. Besides reading all the school books, he read all the books he bought from Diagon Alley and those he brought from his vault. Now that he had no more books at home to read on the subject, he was going to ask Dumbledore to get him auror handbooks.

In Arithmancy he just finished his fifth year material. He was going to write Hermione to ask her for notes on the subject to make sure that he could take the class once school resumed.

In Charms he knew all up to sixth year material. He also took a break from the textbooks and began reading the _1001 Household Charms_ which he used one day to clean his room.

He also found that he had a love for potions. It was like combined Chemistry, his favorite subject in elementary school, with cooking. He read all seven year of textbooks and the manual and training material with them. He only tried to make potions fifth year and under in case something happened though.

Herbology also interested him. He loved plants and being outdoors. He did not realize it until this summer but nature was a calming presence. He learned all he could about plants sixth year and below but he obviously could not do the practical application.

In his mental library he also had a whole section on Parsel and Goblin Magic. He learned a lot from the elders and the books that he read but he still had much to learn in writing Goblinese which did not come as naturally to him.

**

* * *

**

Monday July 30, 11:50 p.m.

Harry was staring at the clock on his bedside table willing it to move faster but the clock kept inching by slower than Harry thought possible. He was waiting for ten minutes to be up and his magical maturity to be reached. When a wizard turns fifteen, the magic that was once restricted is realized and spread throughout the body. It is kept hidden for that long to not have accidents while being a child and to allow the witches and wizards to learn control of their magic.

It was ten more seconds until the clock was going to hit midnight.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…

When the clock struck midnight a power worse than the Cruciatus curse tore though his body. It was like knives being stuck into his skin and a fire was coursing throughout his veins. He bit his mouth to keep from speaking and in the process caused his lip to bleed. It was five minutes before he passed out because of the pain. If anyone were to see him he was enveloped into a blinding white light that did not cease to exist for two hours.

**

* * *

**

Tuesday July 31, 5:00 a.m.

Harry woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. He quickly switched it off and remembered what happened last night. He could feel the power around him and he felt more powerful himself. He stood up and made his way to the closet where he got dressed and went to the center.

When he got back he decided to take a break from training. Afterall, he had already mastered his Animagus forms and so he had nothing to study during those times. He opened his presents that were on his bed from where the owls dropped them off.

He reached into the pile and pulled out his first gift which was from Ron. He unrolled the parchment and began to read.

_Dear Harry, _

_Happy Birthday! How did your magical maturity go? It hurt a whole bloody much, didn't it? At least for me it only lasted five minutes, how long did your last? _

_Anyway, back to your birthday! I hope you like the present. It is from me and the twins. Did you know that they were going to open a joke shop now. I don't know how they found the money but I'm excited. _

_Enjoy, _

_Ron Weasley _

Harry tore open the box and found piles of candy and joke products. He was going to save the joke products for school but could definitely use the candy. He ate a chocolate frog before going to the next letter which was from Ginny. He wondered why she would send a present; they weren't particularly close. He opened the parchment and read it.

_Dear Harry, _

_I know that we have had little communication in the past but I wanted to start. I hope one day you will see me as more than just your best friend's little sister because I really want to get to know you. _

_Another reason that I wanted to write was because I never properly thanked you for saving me in the Chamber. It was noble of you to do that for me and I cannot thank you enough. _

_Now, on to your present! I wasn't sure that to get you but when I saw this I thought of you. I hope you like it. _

_I hope you accept my request to become one of your friends because I would really like to get to know you for you, not because of you being the boy-who-lived. _

_Sincerely, _

_Ginny Weasley _

Harry stared at the present before him and opened it. Inside was a bracelet. It was a leather band with emerald and rubie stones that tied. It was gorgeous.

He tied it onto his wrist before moving onto the next present which was from Hermione. He read her letter first.

_Dear Harry, _

_I hope you are having a wonderful birthday. I wish you a happy birthday as does Victor. I know that you expressed an interest in learning some languages and culture so I took to the liberty of getting them for you. Victor says that they are the most accurate books but not the easiest to read so if you need any help just ask. _

_I know that magical maturity can be painful. It most certaintly was for me and when I asked Victor he agreed. I know it is personal, but with all the things that you have been writting to us about, I was wondering how your maturity went. _

_Also in this package are my notes for the classes you asked for. _

_Happy Birthday! _

_Love, _

_Hermione Granger _

_P.S. I started an O.W.L. review schedule for this year so make sure to get all your summer work done and prepare because this is an important year. I hope Ron and you will consider taking your classes seriously this year. _

He opened the present and found three large books. They showed how to learn three different languages: French, Bulgarian, and Spanish.

He placed the books on his bookshelf before reached out for Sirius's present.

_Dear Aeroterra, _

_Happy birthday! Happy birthday! Happy Birthday! _

_I can't believe that you are fifteen, I remember when you were little and would crawl all over the place. Then when James put you on a broom and swore that you were going to be a seeker. I guess he always knew. He would be proud to see his son right now just as I am proud of my godson. _

_I hope you like your present, your father had one just like it even though he was a Chaser. _

_I can't wait to see you in two days after you receive your Order of Merlin. Who would have guessed that my Godson would recieve an order of Merlin. I am so proud of you! _

_Anyway, enjoy of being a sentimental Hufflepuff. I hope you enjoy! _

_Love forever from your Godfather, _

_Snuffles _

_P.S. I hope you have some good pranks ready when schools starts, future maurder. Haha. _

Harry opened the present and found a golden snitch. Once it was realized, it zoomed around the room. When he came near Harry, he caught it between his fingers and grinned. He placed it in the container and moved on to the next present.

He saw it was from Remus and opened it up.

_Dear Harry, _

_I hope you are having a great birthday. Everything is going great around here at the Headquarters. _

_Your present was something I found in my attic while I was cleaning up. I thought that you would enjoy it seeing as you do not have many things to remember your parents by. _

_I hope you enjoy! Have a great birthday! _

_Love, _

_Remus Lupin _

Inside there was a frames photo of Harry with his parents. It brought tears to his eyes and he quickly wiped them away and placed the framed photo on his desk.

The last present he opened was Mrs. Weasley's customary sweater and pies. He smiled, remembering the first time that he received the present from them.

**

* * *

**

Thursday, August 2, 4:00 p.m.

Dumbledore arrived at the steps of Number Four Privet Drive ready to pick up Harry. He rang the door bell and heard the distant yell of an older man saying, "BOY! GET THAT DOOR!" Dumbledore inwardly cringed at the treatment of the sweet young man that lived there.

A moment later Harry answer the door. He was wearing the wizardry robes that Dumbledore sent over. They were deep green, almost black, with golden stitching. Harry had a golden tan which showed his scar in all its glory. His raven locks supported his usual style of being messy but as he grew older it adopted a sexy quality and it swept over his face in a perfect arch. Though the robes covered his now well-defined six-pack and toned legs, they did not cover the muscles on his arms.

"Hello sir" Harry said politely in a surprisingly deeper voice.

"Hello, my boy, I must say that those robes look dashing on you." Dumbledore said and was rewarded with a deep blush rising on the young man's darkened skin.

"Thank you." Harry replied.

"Well I believe that we have a ceremony to attend. Are you all ready?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes. Who is going to be there?" Harry asked

"Well, we'll just have to see." Dumbledore said cryptically with a twinkle I his eyes. "Grab hold of my arm and I will apparate us both to the ministry."

Harry took hold of Dumbledore's outstretched arm and he felt the unknown sensation of being pulled through a tube then coming up somewhere else. They ended up right outside the telephone box which Dumbledore told Harry to enter. He then dialed a number and a voice rang through the box.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and order of business."

Dumbledore replied "Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter for Order of Merlin ceremony."

The box then moved and they were down in a large building. Harry stared up at the ceiling and saw a twinkling sky not unlike that of the one in the great hall. All around the walls there were posters with news and much to his dismay, he could see at least four pictures of himself.

They continued until they reached huge doors. Dumbledore stopped and put a hand on Harry's shoulders and said "Now this is the entrance. I will be by your side as much as possible but I must warn you about all the press."

"Okay. Let's get this over with." Harry replied.

They both entered the room and found themselves faced over five hundred people sitting around different large circular tables. When they entered, the attendants stood up and clapped. Harry felt himself blush bright red before Dumbledore placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and steered him over where he was assigned to sit. His table included Fudge who was the Minister of Magic, Madam Bones who was Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Dirk Cresswell who was the Head of Goblin Liaison Office, and about five other people he assumed were ministry employees.

Harry spent the next hour politely answering questions about himself and making conversation. He talked to Dirk Cresswell about Goblin Magic and Madam Bones asked him if he knew his daughter, Susan, who was in the same year as him at Hogwarts. He even tried to talk to Fudge but he was furious about him sending Sirius to Azkaban without a trial so he tried to avoid conversation with the minister.

After the hour was up, Fudge stood up and walked to the stage platform and placed a Sonorus charm on himself and addressed the crowd. "We are all gathered here today to celebrate the bravery and courage of a powerful young man who if I'm not mistaken just turned fifteen making him the youngest recipient of this award. I welcome to the stage Mr. Harry James Potter." Harry stood up and walked the necessary steps to the stage and shook hands with the Minister. He then accepted a silver metal that was wrapped around his neck.

He was about to walk off the stage when the Minister called him back to make a speech. _Speech? I didn't know that I had to make a speech? _Harry though. He then took a calming breath.

He reluctantly made his way back to the stage and wandlessly cast the charm onto himself.

"I am truly honored to accept his award. It came as a surprise to me to receive such an honor after doing what I thought was natural. It is second nature to me to help those around me if they are in trouble. I wouldn't want anything to happen to the magical world that I deeply care about. But, I cannot be everywhere at once. Everyone needs to stand together in dark times to shine brightly and destroy the darkness. I will always be there for this community and I thank you for this honor."

Harry canceled the spell and made it down to his chair when the room burst into applause. He shyly sat down next to Dumbledore and the rest of the award ceremony went over flawlessly.


	5. NotSoWelcome Surprize

**Chapter Five: No-So-Welcome Surprize**

**Saturday August 4 5:00 **

Harry woke up to the sound of his alarm clock buzzing. He jumped out of bed and was greeted by Hedwig and Bellona. He quickly took off his pajamas and threw them in the laundry basket in the corner of his room. He then took out a dark green pair of sweat pants and a black t-shirt with a silver snake on the sleeve. He tied his trainers and walked out of the house.

He started off with a light jog while he listened to the nature around him. It was still partially dark and he could hear crickets chirping in the background. A light breeze went by and his hair literally became wind-blown. He increased his speed after a couple of minutes and started running. Houses paced by him in a flash as he ran gracefully down the street to the center.

He slowed down as he saw it approaching and he walked into the now familiar training center where he was greeted by Samson.

"Hello Harry." Samson said in a cheerful tone. "How have you been? I see your summer training is nearly complete." He said while looking at Harry's toned body.

"Yes" Harry said while blushing under the gaze, "I return to my boarding school on September first and I won't be back until next summer." When he finished he realized that the summer was almost over.

"Well, I just came in to check up on everyone. I have a new schedule that you can start when you return to school if you can keep up with your studies as well." Samson replied while handing over the sheet of paper. Harry proceeded to open it and it read:

_Monday-Friday (2-3 TIMES a week): _

_5:00-5:30 a.m. -running _

_5:30-6:30 a.m. -martial arts training and stretches _

_6:30-7:00 a.m. –gymnastics _

_7:00-7:30 a.m. –swimming _

_Saturday-Sunday: _

_6:00-7:00 a.m. –running _

_7:00-8:00 a.m. –swimming _

Harry looked it over once and realized that it was a very realistic schedule. He inclined his head toward Samson and said "thank you" before moving to the stationary bike. He hoped on and set the bike to a sharp incline. He biked at a steady pace, lightly sweating, for fifteen minutes before heading to the abdomen machine. He continued with all his exercises until the hour was up.

He climbed down from the treadmill when he saw the time and went to the water fountain where he drank some cool water. He then walked to the gymnastic area which was next to the work-out room. He walked in and was greeted by Mark, the main coach, as well as Greg, his assistant who turned into Harry's personal trainer. Harry walked up to Greg and sat himself down in front of him to do his warm-ups.

He lifted his arm over his hand and continued to reach down until he felt the tightening of his shoulder. He held it for a minute before doing the same thing to the other arm. After, he sat with his feet apart and reached his arms through the middle until his head was a couple of inches from the ground. He held for a minute for reaching for his foot and holding there for a minute for doing the other side.

Once he was done with the floor stretches he placed his arms in front of himself with his legs still on either side of him. He then pushed on the ground and carefully lifted his feet up until they were pointed to the ground. He then straightened them up until he was in a handstand. He then did fifteen push-ups in this position.

Once he was done, he stood again in front of Greg who instructed him on how to do a standing back flip. They spent the remaining time working on it. They liked to take turns teaching hard and easy moves.

When they were done, Harry left the gym and walked slowly down to the martial arts training.

"Hello Harry" greeted Colton, the martial arts trainer.

"Hello sir" Harry replied back before taking his stance with Quin and Andy in a line in front of the group. They were standing straight with a stance of power and composer. He walked by each of them and began to lecture.

"Today we will begin using the swords as a class. We will not begin to use them against each other until August 20 so for now we will use them against wooden dummies to show how to hold and move your sword. I want you to get used to the weight in your hand. It should feel like an extension of your hand. " Colton continued to lecture while the assistant handed out swords and directed them to each of the dummies.

For the next hour, Harry relearned some of the things he knew about swords. He already knew a lot from being privately taught by the assistant and reading up on Goblin magic.

When he was finished, he was covered in sweat and was glad to make it to meditation and water aerobics.

He greeted Rebecca with a simple hello and sat down on the pillow offered to him. He crossed his legs and within a minute he was viewing the Burrow. He sighed in content while drifting into a meditated state. He held on until Rebecca shook him out of his trance. With only an hour left of training, he gathered up his backpack and lunch and headed to the changing room where he changed into emerald green trunks. He then swam laps in the water while enjoying the feeling of the water against his tired body.

When noon came, he hoped out of the pool and made his way to the changing room. He took a quick shower and changed into black sweatpants and a white t-shirt. He walked out of the room and said goodbye to his friends and trainers before leaving the center.

Once he left, he pulled out his lunch. Today he packed a ham and cheese sandwich with an orange, crackers, and a sports drink. He walked down the road and slowly made his way to his house. Today he decided to listen to The Academy Is.

He got inside and walked to his room. As he walked through the house he noticed that his cousin, Dudley, was playing a video game while his Aunt Petunia was talking on the phone. He got to his room and rested while he waited for the snakes elders to arrive for his Parsel Magic training.

At exactly one, a navy blue snake about a foot long and was pencil-thin slid through the open window.

"_Hello, young Ssspeaker. My name is Duyen." _The snake said as it slid up onto the desk. "_The elders believe I will bessst teach you this next lessssson." _

"_Thank you. What are we learning today?" _Harry asked.

"_Today we are working on ssshieldss. Firssst, I will teach you a ssshield known ass the Golden Sshield. It protectsss you against the spells which wish to change your appearance or alter your body image. Ssuch as changing your hair color or turning you into an animal. The incantation is contego aurum." _

Harry collected his thoughts for a minute and pulled some of his magic to his fingertips. He then said in a commanding voice "Contego Aurum." A golden shield erupted around the front of his body.

"_Very good young ssspeaker. Now try to say it in Parseltongue." _Duyen hissed.

Harry collected his thoughts once again and pulled more magic to his fingertips. Then in a hiss he said "_Contego aurum." _A brilliant golden dome came all the way around his body. It pulsed with magic.

They continued training and talking about the uses of the shield until the two hours was up. Harry thanked Duyen before moving onto Animagus training. Since he was done with actual training, he usually spent the time moving around in his form. Today, he decided that he was going to spent time as a panther.

He walked the half mile to the clearing he typically used and changed with a pop into a sleek black panther. He at first walked around the trees then he gracefully jumped onto the nearest large branch. Once in the tree, he jumped higher and higher on different branches. Finally when he was forty feet in the trees he jumped off in a large leap and landed on his feet in the middle of the clearing. By that time, he was extremely tired and turned back into a sweaty, tired human. He then walked back tiredly to the center since it was close to five o'clock. He reached the center with plenty of time to spare and was instructed to clean the mats in the gymnastic area. It took him an hour and a half in which time he thought about Hogwarts.

_I really miss Hogwarts, _thought Harry, _It was my first really home. It is my first home. I can't wait to return there. I hope with all this training I am doing that I will be able to relax more but I know that is not going to be the case. I need to train to fight. _

By the time he finished it was six thirty and he jogged back home. When he got home he took another shower and slipped into a white tank top and pajama bottoms. He went downstairs to where his relatives were eating and grabbed a plate for himself before heading upstairs. He sat down at his desk while eating the lasagna that his aunt fixed. Once he finished, he went down stairs again and washed the dishes before going back to his bedroom.

Once he entered, he sat himself down on the edge of his bed and took out his photo album of his parents. He stared at it for a minute before opening it to the front page. The first page held a picture of his mother and father waving while he father held onto a baby Harry who was smiling up at his dad.

Harry smiled at the picture and allowed himself to let two twin tears slip from his face. Despite what everyone thought, Harry was not dealing well with everything that was happening in his life. He left that he had to be strong in order to show everyone that he was a hero and that everyone could count on him. Sighing deeply he flipped the page to a picture of his mother at age sixteen smiling while leaning up against a tree reading a book. Her bright auburn hair ruffling lightly in a breeze.

He flipped thought all the pages and grew tired. Before he fell asleep, he took out his journal which he wrote in every night.

_Dear Journal, _

_Today was just like any other. I went to the center until noon. I actual mastered a standing back flip today but in the process ended up with a couple really nasty bruises. Martial arts I didn't learn anything new but it was nice to review. _

_Afterwards it was Parsel magic training and I learned how to make a Golden Shield. And, since I am done with Animagus training, I now use the free time to play around in my forms. Today, I spent my time as a panther and it was amazing. I got to climb around the trees and jump from amazing heights. _

_But, onto the part I really need to write to you about: I miss Hogwarts! I really, truly miss Hogwarts more than any other time before. I miss my friends, I miss the teachers, I miss Dumbledore. To put it simple, I miss the wizardry world. _

_I now that sometimes I would just like to stay in the muggle world and forget that I have a murderer after me or that I am the only one who can kill him. But, I can't forget. I can't leave someone else my problems. My parents didn't give me their lives so that I could mope around and leave my friends behind. Besides, I could never do that to them. _

_I hope my next journal entry tomorrow comes with more happy news but for now, this is all that I have. _

Harry closed the book and set it on his nightstand. He then did his thirty minutes of stretches sitting on his bed. He took ten minutes to sort thought all that he learned that day into his imaginary library which was growing fuller every day.

**

* * *

**

Saturday August 11, 10:00 p.m.

_Dear Journal, _

_This week was one of the best weeks ever. I haven't had a chance to write to you since last Saturday, so here the rundown of the week. _

_Sunday- I went out with my friends form the center to the beach. It was great! We played some beach soccer and lay out in the sun. The only weird thing was that I found strangers staring at me but I just ignored them. I mean people stare at me in the wizarding world because I'm famous so I have no idea why they are staring at me in the muggle world. _

_Monday- I learned how to transfigure pillows into magical animals. I turned my pillow into a phoenix but the transformation only lasts for an hour. I guess that you can't have people making animals left and right. Anyway, then I had my Defense Against the Dark Arts training. Right now, I am reading a book on offense spells and it's very usefully. _

_Tuesday- At the center, I finally beat my partner, the assistance coach, at a sword fight. It was amazing! Then, I got to spend the afternoon in my owl form. I ended up talked to Hedwig and we both went flying while she explained some of the tricks to flying the currents to go faster. Then, in Arithmancy, I am starting to make my own personal stunner. I decided to stop reading the textbook to do my own project and its going okay now. _

_Wednesday- In charms, I learned how to make myself levitate up in the air. It is similar to Wingardium leviosa but it is on you not another object. I read some more of my potions not just because I don't want to give Snape a reason to hate me, but because I actually like potions surprisingly. _

_Thursday- In gymnastics I can now walk across the entire room on my hands. It is pretty cool but it takes a lot of balance. I also just mastered a hard vault move. You had to do a back handspring onto the dashboard then flip backwards to do a double flip in the air. It is amazing! They think that I could compete if I wanted to, but I declined. _

_Friday- My library in my mind is going amazing. I feel like I can learn things quicker and I realized I am turning into quite the Ravenclaw. I have been eating up books like they were chocolate frogs. Ha ha. _

_Then finally, today I learned the reason that I am better at wandless magic with my left hand is because of my dad. The stag tattoo on my left palm allows me to perform magic better that way. _

_I thought I would tell you before I went to sleep. So, Goodnight! I'll try to write again later. _

_Sincerely, _

_Harry Potter _

**

* * *

**

Sunday August 19, 12:30 p.m.

Harry lay down on his back at the beach listening to the sound of the water and children playing in the background. He sighed in content as the sun beamed down on his chest. He opened his bag which was lying next to him and took out a book that he got from the muggle library. It was Great Expectations. He read for the next hour until he felt hungry. He then got up and walked to the closest restaurant which happened to be Italian.

"Welcome to Magana's Italian Cuisine. A table for one?" A middle-aged man asked.

"Yes please." Harry replied. He was then lead to a table to the front left side of the restaurant closest to a busy beach street.

"Someone will be with you soon." The man said while handing Harry a menu. He opened it and soon found that he had no idea what to order. After a while of looking at all the different foods in a different language, he decided to stick to spaghetti and meat sauce.

A waitress who was in her early twenties came up to him and smiled sweetly. "Are you ready to order?" She asked while bating her eyelashes.

Harry, who was oblivious to her advances, looked up and smiled warmly at her. "Yes, I would like to have spaghetti and meat sauce, please."

The waitress smiled again and took the menu from him, making sure to 'accidently' brush past his arm. But, Harry paid her no mind as took a sip of the water.

That was how it went the entire afternoon. The waitress would attempt to flirt with Harry and Harry was unaware of what was going on, though he found it odd that the women kept asking him if there was anything he wanted when there were many people who looked to be done with their meals.

Finally, the lunch was over and Harry paid and tipped the waitress before exiting the restaurant. He walked leisurely back home with his backpack slung over his shoulder while listening to B.O.B.'s "Magic".

**

* * *

**

Tuesday August 28, 4:00 p.m.

Harry was leaning down over his desk, looking at a sheet of paper filled with complex signs and symbols. He was trying to figure out the last of his problem to use his personal stunning hex. Finally, after a couple more minutes he jumped up off his chair and exclaimed "I DID IT!"

He had just worked out the last of this problem and now created his own spell: a personal stunning hex. The spell worked the same way as the regular stunning spell but only the person who casts the spell will be able to enervate them.

**

* * *

**

Friday August 31, 7:00 p.m.

Harry was packing his truck preparing for getting picked up tomorrow. He was slightly nervous to see what he friends would think of his change. He knew that he changed a lot, even more in the past two weeks. He also took his studies more seriously while still maintaining his childhood fun.

He magically shrunk his books and possessions while mentally making a note to himself to buy a larger trunk. He put all of his material in the trunk and closed it. He then shrunk is trunk and tied it to a chain and pulled it over his head.

He then took out the book that he left outside his trunk and began to read to keep his mind off the busy day tomorrow. He read the auror manual for the next three hours before changing out of his clothes and pulling on night pants and a t-shirt. He decided that he was going to leave a couple pairs of clothing in the house since after all, he lived there.

He laid down on his bed and fell into a fitful sleep, suddenly more nervous about going to Hogwarts than he had ever been before.

**

* * *

**

Saturday September 1, 9:00 p.m.

Harry made his way down the stairs for in roughly thirty minutes there were going to be five order members picking him up to escort him to the train station.

He walked down the stairs and met a sight that he thought he would never see: seven Deatheaters were in the living room advancing on three terrified Dursleys.

Harry suddenly became very angry as he advanced down the stairs in a stride, gracefully pace. He walked straight up to the group and walked in between his realities and the deatheaters.

"Is it me who you are looking for?" Harry asked while the air crackled around him with power.

"Ah, if it isn't Harry Potter. Long time no see." A deatheater that Harry recognized vaguely from when Voldemort was resurrected.

"Yes. Rather unfortunately." Harry replied sarcastically. "Now," Harry turned to his relatives and said "go to the corner of the room and stay there, no matter what" He said this with force and determination and his relatives backed themselves into the corner while their eyes remained focused on the group in front of them.

"How noble" one of the deatheaters said in a sneer. Harry recognized him as a Slytherin whom graduated not two years ago.

"Enough of this." The leading deatheater whom he first spoke to said while throwing a blasting curse at Harry. But, Harry saw this coming and did a backflip to get out of the way.

But, no sooner had he dodged that curse, did three more come his way including a killing curse. He leaped and flipped out of the way while pulling out his holly and phoenix wand. He put up a simple blocking shield with one hand and began retaliating with the other.

His shield blocked some of the curses but he had to dodge out of the way of some. One managed to hit him and he found out it was a slicing hex which cut a line down the side of his chest along a trickle of blood to fall out before Harry set a charm to prevent the bleeding that he had learned from 1001 Household Charms.

After that incident, he continued to fight for ten minutes before Harry was against a single deatheater. The deatheater seemed to know that he was going to lose so he pressed his snake tattoo to call for backup right before he was hit with one of the Harry's personal stunning hexes.

Harry then put the personal stunning hex on all the deatheaters to make sure that they would not wake up before he turned to the Dursleys. They all had awe and terror filled faces and were trembling.

"We have to leave. We will go to Ms. Figg's house and floo to Hogwarts, my school, where we will inform Headmaster Dumbledore of the attack. We will also have to say that they called backup. Backup should arrive soon so we must hurry." Harry said.

The Dursleys tried to keep up with Harry as he ran through the neighborhood and reached a small house with a couple of cats outside. He ran inside and called for Ms. Figg. In two minutes they were all standing outside the fireplace and Harry was handing Aunt Petunia a handful of floo powder.

"Now, you drop the powder and yell Hogwarts Headmaster's Office." Harry explained.

Petunia reluctantly dropped the powder and repeated what Harry said. Ms. Figg went next followed by Uncle Vernon. Once Vernon was gone, harry heard the sound of soft pops in the background. Harry turned to Dudley and instructed him to go. Just as the words came from his mouth a curse shot through the doorway and aimed between the two boys.

Harry made Dudley grab the floo powder and go to Hogwarts. But, as Dudley stepped into the floo, his last image he saw before Hogwarts was the fireplace getting blown up just as he was leaving.

Dudley stepped out of the fireplace and found himself in an office. It had all sorts of weird trinkets which he assumed were magical. There was a large desk and sitting on the desk chair there was the oldest man he had ever seen. He had sparkling blue eyes and a long white beard.

"Are you Dumbledore?" Dudley asked the old man.

"Yes. To whom do I owe this pleasure? The Ministry I presume." Dumbledore said.

"No. I'm Dudley Dursley. I'm Harry's cousin-he said he was coming in after me but I watched the fireplace get blown up at Ms. Figg's house. He said to tell you that there was a death eater attack." Dudley said. And with those words the sparkle was completely gone in his eyes and he truly looked his age of 157.

"Do you know how many there were?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

"There were seven to begin with and Harry got all of them. That was at our house. Then he took us to Mrs. Figg's house because he said that one of the death eaters had called for backup." This time it was Petunia that spoke. "Why were seven adults trying to kill Harry anyway?" she continued.

"Harry is a very powerful wizard. He has remained the Dark Lord Voldemort's enemy for four years now. Harry has fought him every year and somehow manages to escape. The seven men you saw Harry fight were all followers of the Dark Lord. And if what I presume is correct Harry most likely is dead because the back-up includes twenty death eaters. No untrained adult survives after that, let alone a child." Dumbledore finished gravely with a tear rolling down his check.

Dumbledore, though he never told Harry, thought of the raven-haired boy as a grandson. He loved him and would deeply mourn his death which he thought was inevitable. No one survived the attacks, Dumbledore did not think that anyone other than aurors and trained order members could survive the attack and since Harry was neither he did not likely stand a chance.

He sent a letter to Severus Snape through his phoenix to meet him in his office; if there was a chance that Harry was alive, then we would do what he could to retrieve him. They sat there in silence for seemingly endless time before Severus Snape entered the room. He looked at the Dursleys then at Dumbledore and Dumbledore told the potions master what had happened that day at Privet Drive.

"And we never even treated him right…" said Petunia in a quiet voice.

Snape's head snapped up at those words. "What do you mean? Surely the golden boy has been waited on hand and foot throughout his life just like his father."

"Even since that night when we found him on our porch, we have treated him poorly. We never even gave him a room until he those letters started coming addressed to the Cupboard Under the Stairs. When he was four he started to cook us breakfast and by the time he was eight he was cooking the breakfast and lunch and cleaning the house. When he was nine he had to start doing the gardening. He had to trim the bushes, mow the grass, and maintain the garden." Said Petunia with a single tear trickling down her face.

"All the while we never celebrated any of his birthdays nor Christmas with him. He would as weird questions about his scar, parents, and surprisingly a flying motorcycle." Vernon Dursley continued though he did not sound remorseful.

"And I was never nice to him. Me and my gang always thought it was fun to mess up Harry while he was working. We started to play harry-hunting as we later named it. We would chase him around and on the off chance that we could catch him because he had good reflexes, two of us would hold him down and the others would beat him up. But, just this summer he beat us all up over a stupid snake. Can you believe it? He beat us, all six of us, up, over a bloody snake." Dudley confessed to the now angry old wizard and thoughtful younger wizard.

"Well I never would have thought… all this time of me thinking his childhood was amazing and he was treated worse than even myself." Severus Snape said in a whisper.

The older wizard next to him had tears silently streaming down his face. He believed that it was his fault for Harry's misfortunate childhood. After all, it was him that placed the boy in their care.

Meanwhile at Privet Drive, Harry continues to battle Death eater after death eater. There are fifteen left of the original twenty as he succeeded in getting a fully body bind on a man while dodging the three killing curses that came his way by doing an aerial.

Fifteen minutes later there were only five death eaters standing. Harry personal stunned ten of the death eaters while he got hit with another strong cutting hex across his right arm and managed to break his left foot and was bleeding profusely from cuts in his side and right cheek.

A women shot a Cruciatus curse at Harry who jumped up in the air shot a stunner at her before performing a prefect roll. Now there were only four left.

For the next five minutes Harry battled on and he remained the only person left standing. He proceeded to put a personal stunner on all the masked figures except one whom apparated away once Harry turned to wand to him. He then did a point me charm to find out the direction to Hogwarts. He turned into a griffin because it was his fastest form. He then disillusioned himself wandlessly with his left front paw. He still had a broken leg but the bleeding stopped so all that was left were nasty cuts and dried blood. Though there was some blood still coming from his leg that was not broken.

* * *

10 minutes after he left ten order members apparated in the lot behind Ms. Figg's house. They approached cautiously and found the place littered with 19 death eaters.

Sirius spoke first "How many death eaters came here?"

"When someone requests for back-up which is a rare thing in itself, there are twenty death eaters chosen to answer the call. Mainly they are new recruits. But as I can see here there are nineteen and no sign of Harry unless you count that pool of blood in the middle and the trails around it from walking. The blood disappears over there rather abruptly so we can assume that he was taken by the death eater that isn't here." Snape replied while looking sadly at the house. He did not treat the boy right but after hearing the story in Dumbledore's office of Harry's childhood, he had a new level of respect for him even if he was dead, not that he would tell anyone this, especially Harry.

"You think he was taken, Severus?" asked Remus. He truly loved Harry. He knew him to be kind and understanding as well as strong. He did not want the answer to be affirmative. Afterall, he only had a couple years with him and he did not want it to end.

"Yes." Severus Snape said gravely.

And with that final word, they collected all the death eaters, for they could not revive them no matter how they tried, and brought them to the Ministry for trials.

Meanwhile, Harry removed his disillusionment once he reached a dense forest in a magical town. He was beginning to feel the pain of the broken bone and the cuts. He was thirty minutes away from Hogwarts and the pain was barely remaining manageable but he knew he had to reach Hogwarts. He could not even change into one of his smaller forms because he was too exhausted.

Severus Snape, Sirius, Remus, and seven other order members came into the Great Hall just as the sorting ceremony had ended and approached Dumbledore, who was sitting next to the Dursley's, with what they saw and what they believe happened. After they gave their report Dumbledore stood to tell the students what had happened.

He stood up and called order. The hall immediately fell silent and remained that way until there was a cry from the Gryffindor table. Everybody turned and saw it was Hermione Granger. She was openly crying into Ron who sat there looking like he was about to cry himself. Ginny was sitting with her friends but she too had tears streaming down her face as she realized that her once-crush-now-friend, Harry Potter, was missing and was the reason behind the headmaster's sadness.

"Today there was an attack on Privet Drive where Harry Potter succeeded in defeating seven Death eaters. But, not before there was a call for back-up. Not many people ever survived when there is back-up because twenty death eaters arrive unless they are trained aurors, and even some of them do not make it."

Now everybody in the hall was looking depressed and all the Gryffindor girls were in tears as well as a few from other houses who had known Harry personally and saw his heart.

"He managed to rescue his family who are seated at the staff table and will remain until proper protection is provided. We believe he was kidnapped after he succeeded in taking down the nineteen death eaters that are now in holding cells at the Ministry. We can only assume that he died today." Dumbledore said this and large tears rolled down his checks. No one had ever seen him cry before and they were left speechless. He truly cared about the boy and now everybody knew.

"When you remember Harry Potter I want you to remember all the times he defended his school and all of those that he loved. Even if you did not know him personally, all of you here owe your lives to this young hero who each year even managed to surprise me with his level of bravery and power.

"In his first year, at age eleven, he fought and beat a troll with the help of his two best friends, the two remaining of the Gryffindor Trio. Later, he battled his way to defend the Sorcerer's Stone and prevented it from landing the hands of his enemy. He fought Voldemort that night in ghost form while inhabiting the body of Professor Quirell.

"In his second year, he went down in the Chamber of Secrets and killed his enemy and a sixty foot long Basilik which was terrorizing the school. His enemy was again Lord Voldemort. Upon learning that one of the students was taken, he wasted no time battling his way. He did not stop when he was bitten by the basilik but only thought of the young girl who he saved. That year he also fought the giant spiders in the forest and the wild rumors that he was the heir of Slytherin.

"In his third year he warded away hundred dementors with the most impressive Patronus Charm I have ever landed eyes one. He did this in an attempt to prove his godfather's innocence." He turned and looked directly in the crying dog's eyes. "And he succeeded in his last act. One of the men that Harry succeeded in stunning was Peter Pettigrew. Sirius you are now become a free man after I request a trial." And with a pop a tall, openly crying man was replaced by the dog and sat down next to Remus. Everyone was in too much shock to care that a mass murderer was there because everyone felt they owed their life to the boy who died that day.

"In his fourth year, he was forced to compete in a tournament. He battled a dragon-which might I add was the most dangerous of the four, the Hungarian Horntail, water demons, mermaids, and entered a maze. But what was unexpected was he had a battle and endured the Cruciatus curse by Voldemort. He brought back Cedric Diggory's body-"

Dumbledore could say no more because there was a loud crash. Everyone turned to see what it was and they could not believe their eyes. It was the largest griffin they had ever seen. It was royal red with dried blood matted in its fur. It had a black and gold mane and was standing by the entrance of the great hall limping toward Dumbledore.

When he reached half way, the Griffin turned into a Harry Potter none of them had ever seen. He stood 5'8'' with dark raven-colored hair sticking up in every direction in a sexy windblown effect. His skin was tan which made his lightning bolt scar even more noticeable on his forehead. His emerald green eyes were piercing and no one could deny the intensity. He was wearing a white t-shirt that fit close to his body showing off his well-defined six-pack and arm muscles. Also visible through the ripped and bloodied shirt were the tattoos. Caked on the shirt that was dried blood and dirt around his side where a large gash was evident. He was wearing dark jeans which molded to his body perfectly showing off his leg muscles and butt. He was dirty and sweaty and was limping toward the staff table. All of them were sitting in awe-filled silence. Sirius stood up and walked his way disbelieving toward his godson who was about ten steps from Dumbledore. When he reached his godson he pulled him into a fierce embrace. He pulled back and reached his arm around Harry's waist to help his stand up properly then he helped him move the rest of the way and reached in front of Dumbledore where he prompted fainted from exhaustion. Dumbledore thought he heard a faint "home" whispered from Harry before the fall.

Dumbledore held the boy in his hands to keep him from falling before conjuring a stretcher and placing the young man onto it. He then guided the stretcher down the hall to the hospital wing followed by Madam Pomfrey.

Harry still sat in the hospital wing, four hours later, while he was bandaged and healed. Sirius was next to him and was holding his hand. Harry thought it felt nice to know that someone cared about him and he looked up at his godfather and smiled.

"Thank you." Harry said while still staring into the eyes of his godfather.

"For what?" he replied.

"Loving me and being there for me. Helping me to become an animagus which helped me survive. Being here in this room for me while I am being healed… just for being like a dad to me." He finished the last part quietly.

Sirius could not believe his ears. He knew that he loved Harry since he was little. He fell in love with him the moment that he was babysitting him.

-Flashback-

James and Lily were getting ready to go to work. James worked as an Auror and Lily as a Charms Mistress. Sirius was watching eleven-month old Harry for the first time alone and he was nervous.

Lily was holding the baby in her arms. He was content just being near her.

He was a beautiful and intelligent baby. He could say a few words. His first word was "love" which he said when he looked into his mother's eyes. Lily could not stop the beautiful smile that lit up her face when she heard him. Since then he proceeded to say words like dad, mom, please, fly, broom, and food. He had yet to say the word 'no' much to everyone's amusement; he wanted to make everyone happy.

Besides being intelligent, he was a beautiful baby. He was always smiling and only once had Sirius heard him cry. His hair, even for a eleven-month-old was a messy mop on top his head looking exactly like his father. His skin was a rosy and smooth and flawless. But his most beautiful feature was his eyes. He always shines with joy and they would twinkle in happiness whenever someone talked and played with him.

But, tonight was the first night that he was going to be away from his parents and he hoped that Harry was going to be alright.

"Alright Harry. You be nice to your Uncle Padfoot while we go to work, okay?" Lily said while looking down at the little boy cradled in her arms.

Harry looked up at her in understanding and gurgled a "yes" to her and was rewarded with a smile. Lily then gave Sirius the bundle and left the house.

Sirius and Harry played with the various toys in his room but his favorite were the wolf, deer, and dog which he held in his hands. Lily, despite Jame's protests, would not allow Harry to play with a rat toy no matter if was Peter's form or not. It was two hours later and Harry's eyes were dropping so Sirius took him and placed him in the baby crib.

Sirius then sat there and watched the baby in a chair next to the crib. He didn't realize he was awake until he saw Harry doing accidental magic to lift him up and put him down in the crib with himself. He was seemingly pleased with himself because he smiled and clapped his hands together.

Sirius laughed and climbed out of the crib and proceeded to lift baby Harry and put him in his arms.

Harry then put reached out and put a small hand on Sirius's check and said "' "Adfoot" with determination. "Euh 'Adfoot." Harry repeated. Sirius smiled down at the baby in his arms. Yes he loved Harry from then on.

-End of Flashback-

Sirius wraps his arms around Harry and there were no words spoken. They understood what the other was feeling and just continued to hold onto each other. When they separated, Sirius went to go see Madam Pomfrey about letting Harry leave the hospital wing because Madam Pomfrey was very protective of all her patients, especially Harry whom was her most frequent.


	6. Explanations, New Friends, and

**Chapter Six: Explanations, New Friends, aand Terrifying Schedules**

The next day, Harry had to go to a meeting with all the teachers, which included Remus Lupin as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and some Order members to tell about all that he was able to do.

He entered the room and found that he had to address around thirty people. The room he was to meet them in was the Great Hall but it was too early in the morning for any of the students to be up, or so he thought.

"Hello, I think everyone knows why we are here, we need to see what Harry here to do to better place him academically this year. I think it safe to say that he will have to take his O.W.L.'s early and be moved to N.E.W.T. level classes but we will have to see." Headmaster Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye while the rest of them sat down skeptically.

"Okay, I guess it would be my job as Head of his House to test him first. Okay, Harry, I'll be addressing transfiguration." She approached Harry and told him to do multiple things with he did perfectly including turning a chair into a dog and turning that dog into a teacup. She went through all of the O.W.L. level things but she found he did not have enough knowledge in N.E.W.T. level things so he would be testing in transfiguration in order to move to grade seven in that subject.

"We saw you in your animagus form so that is something to be in awe about. We will need to contact the Ministry to get your license. Having an animagus form and having the power to use it is very rare and I am proud of you." She said with a small smile which was a rare thing.

"Actually," Sirius spoke up, "he has more than one form." He spoke with a proud voice when he looked at his now blushing godson.

"Really, but that is impossible. Nobody but Merlin had enough power to complete another transformation. He, in fact, had three forms, one of them being magical which is highly unusually, with Mr. Potter, there are only six people who have been able to have a magical form." The Professor said in a lecture which in turn made everyone look to Harry expectantly.

Harry then turned into his griffin which was eight feet tall and twelve feet long. He was brilliantly muscular. His royal red fur radiated among the room. His mane was silky black and gold and the black looked so much like Harry's hair it was almost funny. His eyes were blazing emerald. He then proceeded to extend his wings which were deep black and glossy. His wings reached a wingspan of twenty feet and left the whole room speechless for they did not get a look at them when he first came in.

He then changed back to human and looked up at the audience in front of him.

"Well I guess I'll change into one of my other forms now." Harry said in a normal tone which everyone could hear.

He then turned into a glossy black owl with shiny emerald eyes. He spread his wings and flew over and landed on his godfather's shoulder where he nipped affectionately at his ear causing everyone to laugh and break the awe-filled tension.

He then flew back to the front of the room where he was before but before he landed he transformed back to his human self. Everyone clapped but then Professor McGonagall said "One of your other forms?" she had caught that when everyone else had not.

Instead of answering, he transformed into a black panther. It was gracefully and beautiful. It ran all the way around the room and then when he got to the center of the room he transformed into a stunning white, gold, and silver unicorn which pranced over and stood in front of his head of house. He then walked over to the potion master, transformed into the seven foot long pitch black cobra which slid up his chair and slid to the middle of the table where he put half his body in the air before lifting up his blood-red hood which in turn caused half of the people to leap from their chairs.

Harry then transformed back to his human form, still on the table, and proceeded to laugh loudly. Sirius joined in the laughter and then everyone in the room was laughing.

Harry then walked back to where he stood in front of the teachers. He stood there for a minute before saying "Yeah…well… those are all of my forms." He then blushed light pink and looked over at Dumbledore who had a large twinkle in his eyes.

They proceeded to test him in every subject taught from Ancient Runes to Herbology. His last test was DADA which he was very much looking forward to.

Remus stepped forward and said that his test would be a duel. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy; the DADA teacher was going to be dueling a fifteen-year-old. They obviously forgot that he had already taken down over twenty-five death eaters the day before.

They approached on the platform where they battled spectacularly. Colors were flying everywhere. Watching Harry was like watching a dance-everyone looked in awe at the boy who was flipping and doing spells both with and without his wand and some of the spells were well beyond that of a seventh year. In five minutes the duel was over when Harry had Remus's wand and had him in a fully-body bind.

He then proceeded to battle all the teachers but only a few managed to beat him. The one man who did not participate yet was Dumbledore.

Dumbledore then stood up, everyone watching what he would do. No one had ever beaten him in a duel. He approached a now terrified Harry and asked him to duel.

They both took out their wands. Harry began the attack with a stunner which Dumbledore shielded while immediately responding with an array of spells which Harry either blocked the ones he knew or flipped out of the way for. He danced his way around the dueling platform using everything in his power including Parsel Magic (which surprised everyone there because of its harsh sound), martial arts training, animagi, and typical dueling and transfiguration.

Spells were flying and Harry was doing flips and dodges and shielding charms. Everyone was standing there looking at the most amazing duel they had ever seen. It lasted ten minutes before Harry was stunned and his wand was moved to Dumbledore's outstretched hand.

He then woke Harry up and helped him to his feet. Harry grinned and accepted Dumbledore's hand and stood up and gave him a hug, then pulled back and yelled "That was so much fun!" which caused everyone to laugh.

"Can we move to swords now?" Harry said excitedly not noticing the awed and fearful expressions on the adults around him.

"I believe that Professor Snape could help you there. Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, I have been trained in the art for several years now having grown up in the family that I was in. Let me summon my sword."

A second later a beautiful sword came into the room and into his hand. Harry then proceeded to raise his hand in what looked to be a summoning manner but in fact he was wielding a sword for the duel. Ten seconds later an amazingly crafted sword appeared in his hand and he looked up at the potion master.

Dumbledore made a small spell on the swords as to not do harm but only identify the winner and then said "You may begin." The adults were already lined up against the far wall.

Snape made the first move and plunged toward Harry who pared and returned with his own blow. If the teachers thought that he was performing like a dancer when dueling, they did not expect to see the beauty and grace that Harry exerted while holding a sword. He was gracefully and a natural. The duel ended in five minutes with Harry as the winner. They both shook hands and made their way back to the crowd.

Snape then asked Harry, "Where did you buy such a magnificent sword?"

"Bought? I just made this one." Harry replied. He looked around at their faces and realized he forgot to mention the Goblin Magic that he had required so he added. "Well I have Goblin Magic now too." This did not do to relieve the looks of awe on their faces. So he proceeded to tell them about everything that happened at the wizard bank.

"But I do wish that I had to sword I first used… you know the one in second year?" he looked up at Dumbledore in pleading eyes.

"Well I don't see why not, you obviously have learned to control swords and have required the knowledge. I see no reason to not give you the sword." He smiled down at the beaming boy who ran to give him a hug.

When he realized what he had done, he looked up guiltily at his headmaster who in turn chuckled lightly and returned the hug.

It was Snape's turn to break the silence. "What sword is he talking about? And what did he mean by using a sword as a second year?" Though he would never admit it, he was starting to like to boy.

"Well…you see… when I was in the chamber… the Chamber of Secrets that is… I needed something to kill the Basilik… and…. well I used the Sword of Gryffindor to pierce it through its head. But not before it bite me the stupid thing." Harry finished lamely.

Sirius jumped up and grabbed his godson by the shoulder's roughly and practically screamed at him, "WHAT?" Though they had heard the story in the feast, they were too depressed to become angry at the tales.

"Now Sirius, you heard me tell Harry's adventures during the feast, there is no reason to get angry." Dumbledore said.

"Yeah Sirius, I'll tell you all the details later." Harry promised.

**

* * *

**

Sunday September 3

It was one of the weirdest days Harry had ever experienced. People from all years stared at him, including some people from Slytherin house. He still felt the hate-filled stares from Draco Malfoy and some of the other members of the soon-to-be Death Eater group. But something seemed different about the stares-like it wasn't a petty rivalry anymore.

He remained in fifth year classes until Tuesday when he would take his O.W.L.'s and move onto seventh level in everything except Ancient Runes which he would remain in O.W.L. level and Care of magical creatures which he would be in sixth year. In Defense Against the Dark Arts he would be a teacher's assistant to Remus and would help in classes.

He also found out that he was made Gryffindor perfect, along with Hermoine, and was voted Quidditch captain.

**

* * *

**

Monday September 4

Harry got out of bed at five o'clock the next morning and put on a pair of navy blue sweatpants and a light gray v-neck t-shirt. He went to the bathroom and pulled brushed his hair and teeth before setting off on a jog to the lake. Once he arrived, he took one lap around the lake in a jog. It took twenty minutes since it was about a mile and a half long. He came back to his original spot and did twenty sit-ups and twenty push-ups. He then stretched and prepared to do martial arts. He took his fighting stance and spent the next twenty-five minutes practicing fighting invisible enemies. He then did a couple more minutes of stretching and prepared for gymnastics. He sat down and spread his legs between his arms. He then pushed his arms off the ground and pulled his legs up. His toes were pointed toward the ground in a perfect v. He then lifted his feet up so that he was in a handstand and did twenty push-ups in this position. He then rolled out of the position and prepared to do a round off layout back handspring full.

He started off with a running start and threw his hands onto the grass with a push. He pushed his legs over his head and sprung backward. His feet pushed off the ground two consecutive times as he did two flips. He pushed his hands down on the ground for more speed and kicked his legs up. He then flipped backwards and did the final twist. He landed on his feet and took off again. He did a cartwheel which turned into a back handspring where he did a final flip and landed on his feet. He then ran and did a leap in the air. Once on the other side he went into a handstand and walked across to his starting point, sweat dripped off his face, as he walked on his hands to the other side.

Once he arrived, he took off his shirt which was now sweaty and clinging to his body and took off his sweatpants to reveal black swim trunks. He took off in a run and dove into the lake where he swam under water for five minutes before coming up for air. He swam laps in the water until the thirty minutes were up and he walked to the shore shaking his head to get rid of some of the water. He changed into his sweaty clothes. He then looked around the ground to make sure no one was looking and transformed into his owl form. He took out into the castle and made his way up to the common room.

Meanwhile, the majority of the female population in the castle was crowded around the nearest windows to watch as Harry swam and worked out down by the lake. Taking off his shirt and swimming elected a round of giggles. To put it simply, Harry was hot and they noticed. They were even more shocked when they noticed the second Animagus form.

Harry, meanwhile, returned to his common room and took a quick shower before putting on his uniform and waking Ron.

"Just one more minute." Ron wined while pressing a pillow onto his flaming red hair.

Harry chuckled and simply lifted the mattress up and flipping him off the bed. Ron landed with a thump and turned to glare at the teen.

"Bloody Hell! I'm up already, gesh." Ron said while standing up and rubbing his butt. It took him ten minutes but they made their way down to the common room and then through the door to walk to the Great Hall.

Ron and Harry plotted down on the bench in front of Hermione who was bent over a scroll of parchment. When she noticed them arrive, she smiled up at them and began talking to Harry.

"Harry, I have created a plan for helping out the younger students as the Gryffindor prefects. I know when I was in my first year, I felt overwhelmed and would have liked to be able to ask questions to the older students. I thought that we could meet with them every other week to see how they were doing and to have a study or story-telling time." Hermione rambled on until Harry interrupted her.

"That sounds great Hermione." Harry said which instantly calmed her. "I think I need to meet some of the first years beforehand because I wasn't exactly here for the welcoming feast."

They agreed to make a notice on the board for the first year Gryffindor and soon after, Professor McGonagall came around and handed everyone a schedule.

"Mr. Potter, you will remain in fifth year classes for today, but tomorrow you will start the O.W.L. examinations. After those, you will move to seventh year classes in everything but Care of Magical Creatures, which you will take as a sixth year, and Ancient Runes and Astronomy which you will take as a fifth year. I would also recommend taking some of the extra classes that we offer to sixth year students. For today, you can follow Miss Granger's schedule and you will have to meet with me to discuss your new schedule along with the training from the headmaster." She said before handing him a piece of parchment with other class choices.

"How many classes can I chose from on here?" Harry asked while pointing to the extra classes.

"Right now, your schedule includes DADA assistant, Ancient Runes, Charms, Potions, CoMC, Transfiguration, Herbology, Astronomy, and Arithmancy which is a very busy schedule. You are also a perfect and Quidditch captain. Those, along with training, will keep you plenty busy this school year so I would keep that in mind when making your decision."

"Harry! You're taking all those classes! You're turning into Hermione!" Ron exclaimed while shaking his head as if to clear it.

"Yeah. I have really mastered Occlumency and it has really helped to allow me to learn faster. Plus, I just reached maturity so my power levels are higher. I think I will chose one of these classes." Harry said to a disbelieving Ron.

Harry then pulled out the parchment and began to read the choices aloud for the benefit of Hermione who looked like she was bursting with excitement.

_Rare and Lost Magical Talent (taught by Professor McGonagall) Discover rare magical talents in the wizardry world and see which you may possess. Class meets every Sunday from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. _

_Healing (taught by Madam Pomfrey) Learn about the body and how to heal injuries inflicted both magically and physically. Classes met every Tuesday and Thursday 5 p.m.-7 p.m. _

_Dueling (taught by Professor Filtwick) Learn dueling techniques and how to apply your knowledge of spells to dueling situations. Class meets every Monday 5 p.m.-7 p.m._

_Magical Drawing (taught by Professor Sprout) Learn how to use your magic to draw and create art. Classes meet Tuesday-Thursday 6 p.m.-8 p.m. _

_Magical Law (taught by Professor Vector) Remember magical laws and trails which have been made famous in history. Classes meet Friday 8 p.m. _

"Hmmm." Harry said while looking over the parchment "I think I either want to take Dueling or rare and Lost Magical talent. What do you think?" He looked over at Hermione.

"It's hard to decide. I know that you have a lot of rare talents but I think that Professor Dumbledore's training will help you there. I think if you had to chose one, I would chose dueling."

"It's settled then. I will take Dueling on Mondays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m." Harry said.

They then talked about random things and when it was time to leave, they all headed down the grounds to CoMC class. They greeted Hagrid warmly and they had a lesson on ashwinder which were a type of snake. All the snakes were drawn toward Harry and he spent most of the class time, sitting cross-legged on the grass talking to the snakes as they curled around him.

After CoMC, Harry and Hermione went to Ancient Runes while Ron went to Divination. They spent their time getting lectures on the importance of the O.W.L. year and the reason behind their magical maturity.

They made their way to the Great Hall where they had lunch after class was over. It was during the middle of the meal when a nervous first year Ravenclaw came up behind Harry and tapped him on the back. She stood there shaking as Harry turned around and gave her a warm smile. She was extremely small and had light brown hair down to the middle of her back. She had blue eyes and little freckles covering her nose.

"Hello." Harry said.

"Hi…Mr. Potter. The Headmaster… he... he asked me to give this to you." She stumbled over her words as she handed Harry an envelope.

"Thanks and just call me Harry." Harry gave a crooked smile as he took the envelope from her outstretched hand. "What's your name?" he asked her as he placed the envelope in his pocket.

"Madeline Roshield." The young girl replied.

"Well Madeline, that you for delivering the letter. I hope you can come to me as a perfect, even if I am a Gryffindor, if you have any problems or need any help, okay?" Harry asked while smiling at the girl.

"Thank you." Madeline replied getting over to nerves.

"No problem. I hope to see you soon." Harry replied as she walked away.

Harry then turned back to the envelope in his hands and opened it up.

_Dear Harry, _

_I hope you are doing well today, my boy. I wish to talk to you about your schedule and training you will receive tonight in my office at eight. _

_Sincerely, _

_Albus Dumbledore _

_P.S. I prefer Chocolate Frogs. _

Harry smiled as he read over the p.s., knowing that it would be the password to his office. He then told his friends the contents of the letter before making his way to the next class with his two best friends on either side of him.

* * *

"Chocolate Frogs" Harry said as he approached the familiar gargoyle leading up to Dumbledore's office.

He then climbed up the stairs and knocked on the door and walked inside without waiting for a reply. He walked over to the desk and sat in front of the desk in a plush brown leather chair.

"Hello sir." Harry greeted the man sitting in front of him.

"Hello Harry. I wanted to inform you that the O.W.L. testers will be here tomorrow morning and the tests will last until Friday. I also wanted to know if you wanted to take any of the extra classes now available to you?"

"I was thinking I might take dueling, sir."

"Yes, that would do nicely. In our lessons, which will be every other Saturday night at 8 p.m., we will be testing your rare magical powers. Yes, I think dueling will do nicely."

"I thought the same thing after Hermione suggested it." Harry replied with a smile.

"Yes. Miss Granger truly is brilliant." Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Now, I need to prepare a schedule for you." Dumbledore took out a quill and parchment and wrote Harry James Potter at the top and with Harry's help planned his schedule and free time.

_Monday__: _

_5:00-7:30 Workout Time _

_7:30-8:30 Breakfast _

_8:30-10:30 Double Seventh Year Potions (Gryffindor and Slytherin)_

_10:45- 11:45 Care of Magical Creatures Sixth Year (Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff) _

_12:00-1:00 Lunch _

_1:15-3:15 Double Seventh Year Herbology (Gryffindor and Ravenclaw) _

_3:30-4:30 Ancient Runes Fifth Year (All Houses) _

_4:30-5:00 Dinner (in kitchen) _

_5:00-7:00 Dueling Class _

_7:00-8:00 Perfect Duties _

_8:00-10:30 Homework _

_Tuesday__: _

_5:30-7:30 Quidditch Practice _

_7:30-8:30 Breakfast _

_8:45-10:45 Double Astronomy Fifth Year (Gryffindor and Hufflepuff) _

_11:00-12:00 Defense Against the Dark Arts assistant for sixth year Slytherins and Ravenclaws _

_12:15-1:15 Lunch _

_1:30-3:30 Double Arithmancy Seventh Year (All Houses) _

_3:45-7:00 Free time and Dinner _

_7:00-8:00 Perfect Duties _

_8:00-10:30 Homework _

_Wednesday: _

_5:00-7:30 Workout Time _

_8:00-8:30 Breakfast _

_8:45-9:45 Transfiguration Seventh Year (All Houses) _

_10:00-12:00 Double Charms Seventh Year (All Houses) _

_12:00-1:00 Lunch _

_1:15-3:15 Double Ancient Runes Fifth Year (All Houses) _

_3:30-5:30 Quidditch Practice _

_5:30-10:30 Free Time and Homework and Dinner_

_Thursday: _

_5:00-7:30 Workout Time _

_8:00-8:30 Breakfast _

_8:45-10:45 Defense Against the Dark Arts assistant for third year Gryffindor and Ravenclaws _

_11:00-12:00 Free Time _

_12:00-1:00 Lunch _

_1:15-3:15 Double Seventh Year Potions (Gryffindor and Slytherin)_

_3:30-7:00 Free Time and Homework and Dinner_

_7:00-8:00 Prefect Duties _

_8:15-10:30 Homework and Free Time _

_Friday: _

_5:30-7:30 Quidditch Practice _

_8:00-8:30 Breakfast _

_8:45-10:45 Double Transfiguration Seventh Year (All Houses) _

_11:00-1:00 Free Time and Lunch _

_1:15-2:15 Care of Magical Creatures Sixth Year (Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff) _

_2:30-3:30 Seventh Year Herbology (Gryffindor and Ravenclaw) _

_3:45-10:30 Free Time and Homework and Dinner_

_Saturday: _

_5:00-7:30 Workout Time _

_7:45-10:00 Free Time _

_10:15-12:00 Quidditch Practice _

_12:00-1:00 Lunch _

_1:15-8:00 Free Time, Homework, Dinner _

_8:00-10:00 (Rotates: Week One-Training; Week Two- stories and study time as Prefect) _

_Sunday: _

_5:30-7:30 Quidditch Practice _

_8:00-9:00 Breakfast _

_9:15-12:00 Free Time _

_12:15-1:00 Lunch _

_1:15-10:30 Free Time, Homework, and Dinner _

"Now, my boy, if you ever feel that this schedule is overwhelming, I want you to come to me and we will try to find a way to make all your responsibilities easier on you. Also, the next Order meeting will be on Sunday."

**

* * *

**

Friday September 6, 3:00 p.m.

Harry just finished his last O.W.L. test and was heading back to the common room when he heard a muffled sob come from behind a suit of armor. Harry approached it and realized it was Madeline, the girl that had delivered the letter to him on Monday.

Harry walked up to her and kneeled down to her eye level.

"Madeline" Harry said and at the sound of her name, her head shot up and she spotted Harry. "What's wrong?" Harry continued.

"Nothing." Madeline mumbled while placing her head in her arms which were wrapped around her knees. Harry sat down in front of her and lifted up her chin and stared into her eyes.

"It doesn't do to hold things in, Madeline." Harry told her softly. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"Its just… I miss my family. My dad and mom." She snuffled her nose before continuing. "I just feel so alone sometimes. I haven't even made any new friends yet." She finished weakly.

"I know it might not mean much but I would love to be your friend." Harry smiled kindly at her.

"Really?" she asked, giving Harry a watery smile.

"Really." Harry replied. He then unwrapped her arms from her knees and pulled her to her feet and gave her a brotherly hug. "Now. I have the rest of the day off. So, would you like to do something with me?" Harry asked.

Madeline whipped the tears from her eyes and smiled up at him. "I would love to."

"How about we spend some time outside. Have you learned to fly yet? Or did you need any homework help? I'm up for just about anything."

"Do you think you could help me with transfiguration?" Madeline asked.

"That sounds great. How about we walk to your common room and I can help you there. That is, if your housemates would mind me being there?"

"No, they wouldn't mind. I'm pretty sure that some of them will probably want the help too. The older Ravenclaws are also really busy, or so they say." Madeline said with a smile and a small laugh.

Harry laughed along with her until they reached the Ravenclaw tower where she said the password, Nicolas Flamel, and they walked through the portrait.

The common room looked much like that of Gryffindor expect the walls were lined with hundreds of books on different subjects and the walls were a deep blue. To the side there were three tables where people sat and read.

There were about five first years looking over the transfiguration section. Madeline took hold of Harry's hand and lead him over to the group.

"Hello guys. I found someone who can help us with our work." Madeline said to the group. Their heads shot up and when they spotted Harry, their eyes went round.

"Hi. I'm Harry. I have the afternoon off and Madeline said that you might need some help in transfiguration." Harry said while smiling down at the group of eleven year olds.

"Yeah." Madeline spoke up. "We need some help switching a match into a needle."

"Why don't you guys sit down and I'll try to teach you." Harry said and they all sat down in the chairs and looked at Harry expectantly.

Harry stood up in front of them and conjured a match wandlessly. He then conjured six more and placed them in front of each of the kids.

"Now. I want you to study the match. Look at it very closely. See the shape and color in your mind. Take a minute to completely get a picture in your head." Harry waited a couple of minutes before continuing. "Now that you see the match, see it changing into a needle. See the color change to silver and the shape become pointy and sharp. Will it to become a needle." He waited a couple of minutes.

"I want you to look at the needle in front of you and image it turning into the needle just the same way that you did in your mind." Harry lectured.

The first years nodded their heads and after a couple of minutes looked up at him. He continued by saying "I want you to image that happening when you say the incantation 'fiocupus.'" Harry said.

He then demonstrated by pointing his right finger at the match and saying the incantation. He match switched to a needle.

The others become somewhat successfully and after thirty minutes that had all successfully switched the match into a needle. He then spent the next twenty minutes teaching them to make the needle into a match by repeating the same process.

"You guys did great." Harry smiled encouragingly at them.

"Thanks Harry." They all chimed together which caused the whole group to burst into laughter.

"I'm going to go meet up with Ron and Hermione but if you need any help don't hesitate to ask. I'm going to be pretty busy but if you ask, I'll always find the time for you guys." Harry said as he left the room.

Harry then made his way to the Gryffindor common room and he pushed open the door and found the common room practically empty. There were a few third year boys joking around by the fireplace and there were Ron and Hermione talking to each other by the window. Harry went up to them and greeted them.

"Hey Harry." Ron greeted while clapping Harry on the back. "Where have you been? I thought your exams ended earlier."

"Yeah. I ran into Madeline and she was upset so I went and talked to her then helped her and some first year Ravenclaws with transfiguration." Harry replied while taking a seat between the two.

"That was nice of you Harry. Ron and I were wondering if you wanted to go out by the lake and celebrate your exams with a picnic. We were thinking by the tree …you know, the one we used to figure out the riddle of the Socerer's Stone." Hermione said.

"That sounds great." Harry replied.

Ten minutes later, they were outside by the tree sitting down and eating sandwiches and drinking pumpkin juice. They talked about random things and joked around playing truth or dare which turned out to be just daring each other to do crazy things.

"Harry, I dare you to….go jump in the lake." Ron said with a wicked smile.

Harry got up and starting running and dove in the lake, transforming into a panther in the process before hitting the water. He then swam around in that form before climbing out of the water and shaking off and stretching like an overgrown cat which he was. He then ran over to Ron and tacked him to the ground in a leap, getting him wet in the process.

"Harry! Get off me!" Ron yelled.

Harry complied and changed back into his human form while laughing. He then turned to Hermione and dared her to eat the mystery food that Dobby had packed which turned out to be an Every Flavor Bean cake. When she took a bite it tasted like ear wax.

They spent the next hour joking around. When it was six thirty, they went back inside the castle. Ron and Hermione went to the common room and Harry went to Remus's room which was shared with Sirius.

He knocked on the portrait of Merlin three times before Remus asked who it was.

"It's me. Your favorite person in the world. Aeroterra." Harry replied laughing.

The portrait swung open and Remus smiled brightly at Harry.

"Harry. Come in. I know a certain mutt who has been looking forward to seeing you." Remus said and Sirius, as Padfoot came charging in the room and tackled Harry to the floor licking his face.

"Ugh. Gross." Harry said while pushing Sirius off only to get tackled again. Harry then transformed into a cobra and hissed at Sirius who put his tail between his legs and with a pop transformed into a human. A second later the cobra transformed into Harry, who was laughing at the expression on Sirius's face.

"I was just happy because I am going to have a trail tomorrow where I will be proved innocent but-" Sirius said but was interrupted as a raven-haired teen hugged him tightly.

"I am so happy for you. Do you think I should be a witness? I have to go tomorrow to the Ministry anyway to get my Animagus license." Harry said all in one breath.

"Calm down. I was just about to ask you if you would be a witness. Having a famous godson has to come in handy sometimes." At Harry's glare, Sirius ruffled up Harry's hair and said "kidding, kidding." He raised his hands up in mock surrender.

Harry smiled again and nodded his head. They all sat down on the couch and continued to discuss their days with each other. Sirius had to stay in his dog form while in the castle and stay in Remus's rooms since people knew he was an Animagus. Remus had been working on class schedules and Harry had his exams and time with the Ravenclaws and his best friends. All in all, Harry was very content with his life.


	7. Trials and Tribulations

**Chapter Seven: Trials and Tribulations**

**Saturday September 7, 7:30 a.m.**

Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table, eating eggs, bacon, and toast. He knew that he was going to the Ministry with Sirius, Remus, Snape and Dumbledore in a half hour and he was very nervous.

The half hour flew by quickly and sooner than he could imagine, Remus was tapping him on the shoulder and leading him to Dumbledore's office where they were taking the floo to the Ministry.

Once they arrived in the extravagant room at the Ministry, Dumbledore lead them to the area where the trials were to be held. Harry held his breath for a minute before opening the door to reveal a stadium with people crowded in it. There had to be at least two thousand people. Harry looked to the left and saw some people holding newspapers. On the cover read the headline: Trail of the Century- Pettigrew vs. Black.

Harry suddenly felt overwhelmed and was thankful when Dumbledore placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezed it, then lead Harry to the table were the witnesses were seated.

The trial began ten minutes later with the sound of a bell. Everyone became silent as two Aurors led in Peter Pettigrew. He was successfully enervated in the week when Harry had to come by personally to do it. They were all thoroughly impressed with is spell work.

Peter looked sickly. He had gray, lifeless, balding hair which formed a ring around his wrinkled head. He had haunting, evil, black-rimmed eyes. Even his smile showed of malicious intent. The clothes he wore were in shambled and the t-shirt he wore showed his death eater tattoo to everyone.

After Peter was lead in, Sirius was lead in. He had transformed and allowed the Aurors to take hold of his hands and guide him to the second chair. The two chairs were on opposite sides of the room and were facing each other while to the side of the judge. There was a chair in the middle which was facing the judge and to the side were Pettigrew and Sirius. This was the witness chair.

The train began when the judge, Judge Wilmar Clevus Sharehold stood up. "Ladies and Gentlemen. We are called her to answer the questions: who is the guilty? Who was really the murderer? Who was really the death eater? Fourteen years ago, on the fatefully Halloween night, one of these two gave the information to V-Voldemort which lead to the Potter's death. Today the charges are as followed: the aid in the murder of James and Lily Potter, being a death eater, helping in the resurrection of Voldemort last year and being an illegal Animagus. We would first like to call Peter Pettigrew to the stands. If Professor Snape could administer the truth serum?"

Snape walked forward once Peter was secure in the witness chair and dropped three drops of Veritaserum on his tongue.

Dumbledore, whom was representing Sirius, stepped forward to start questioning.

"What is your name?"

"Peter Blilius Pettigrew." Pettigrew said in a detached tone.

"Are you a death eater?"

"Yes." A cry of outrage rang through the room and it took three minutes for the judge to quiet the people down.

"Were you the Potter's secret keeper?"

"Yes." Another cry rang though the room but it was subdued in a minute.

"Did you betray James and Lily Potter to Voldemort?"

"Yes. I betrayed Harry as well. He was who master wanted."

"Indeed. Did you help in the resurrection of Voldemort last year?"

"Yes. I was the blood of the servant. There was a potion which would enable him to receive his body again and return gloriously to his body. I would be deeply rewarded."

"Are you an Animagus?"

"Yes. I am a rat." A few laughs came from this.

"I have no further questions." Dumbledore said.

"Let us call forth the next witness: Sirius Black."

Sirius was led to the chair once it was vacated. He was strapped to the arms of the chair. Snape stepped forward to give three drops of truth serum.

Dumbledore began the questioning again.

"What is your name?"

"Sirius Orion Black." Sirius stated in a lifeless tone.

"Were you the Potter's secret keeper?"

"I was at first. But, I thought that I would be the obvious chose. I convinced James and Lily to change it to Peter since nobody would suspect him since he was so weak."

"Describe the events that occurred that night."

"I felt like something was wrong because I had not seen Peter in a couple of days so I got on my flying motorcycle to go to Godric's Hallow. When I got there, I saw the place was ruined. I approached Hagid who had Harry in his arms. I wanted to take Harry but Hagrid insisted that Dumbledore wanted him to move to his relative's house. I finally gave in and realized that Peter must have betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort. I went and found him in a muggle street outside his house and I wanted to kill him. But, instead, he yelled at me and told everyone that I was the traitor. He then killed the thirteen muggles. He then cut off his finger and transformed into a rat before running off. I didn't know what to do. I had just lost three of the people I loved: there were two dead and the other might as well have been since he betrayed us all."

"Are you a death eater?"

"No."

"Are you an illegal Animagus?"

"Yes. My form is a dog."

"Were you in any way involved in the resurrection of Voldemort?"

"No. I would never do such a thing."

"There will be no further questioning." Dumbledore said.

Aurors led Sirius back to his chair before Dumbledore stood up to call the next witness.

"I would like to call Harry James Potter."

Everyone in the courtroom was trying to get a good look at the boy-who-lived. Harry finally approached the chair and was given three drops of truth serum from Snape.

Dumbledore then approached Harry and began questioning.

"What is your name?"

"Harry James Potter."

"Do you believe Sirius Black is innocent?"

"At first, I did not believe that he was innocent. But, after I talked to him in my third year and saw Peter when he admitted to what he did the same day, I knew that he was innocent. He had to save him that day from the Minister who wanted to give him the Dementor's Kiss."

"Do you mind placing a memory in this bowl? It is a pensieve. Afterward, we can project it into the air and allow the entire courtroom to view it?"

"I can." Harry replied. He then put his left hand to his temple and after a moment pulled out a string of blue memories. He placed it in the bowl.

The scene was projected into the air. The first was of Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew in the Shrieking Shack. The memories played.

_Sirius asked Peter, "You betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort, didn't you?" _

_Peter responded, "I didn't mean to. You have no idea the weapons he possesses. What would you have done? What would you have done?" _

_Sirius advancing on him, "I would have died, I would have died rather than betray my friends." _

The scene changed to the moment just before the cup.

_Harry was looking at the cup with Cedric. _

_Cedric said, "Take it. You saved me twice. Take it." _

"_How about we take it together? 1…2…3" They were both taken away and into the graveyard. _

"_I've been here before in a dream." Harry said then paused and said "Cedric move!" _

_The killing curse came towards him. He fell to the ground in a lifeless mass. Peter grabbed Harry and tied him to a gravestone. They then preformed the ritual and Voldemort was brought back to life. Voldemort put the imperious curse on Harry and he fought it off. Voldemort and Harry battled and finally Harry got away. _

The courtroom was dead silent when the scene stopped playing. The silence was broken when Dumbledore said "There will be no further questioning."

Dumbledore made his way to the side where he sat down. Next, Lucius Malfoy stepped forward as the defense for Peter. He called Sirius to the stands whom was still under the influence of the potion.

"Did you, or did you not harm attack the ancient and priceless portrait in the Hogwarts castle?"

"I did attack the portrait when it would not allow me to enter. I needed to protect my godson."

Lucius sneered at this but continued, "Did you in any way intent to murder Peter before the incident in the street?"

"Yes. He had betrayed my best friends."

"That does not seem like the attitude of someone innocent. Hmm. And what about your godson? What did you think would happen to him if you murdered Peter and you were sent to Azkaban?"

"I love my godson. If I went to Azkaban, which I did, I hoped that he would stay with Remus Lupin. It was written in my will."

"Wait a minute!" someone from the audience cried. "He is a death eater! He was there during the resurrection of Voldemort!"

Lucius Malfoy took one look around the courtroom before dashing out and apparating away.

Dumbledore steeped forward and addressed the people of the court. "Now, I believe that we should call the verdict now that the Malfoy has decided to rid us of his presence."

The judge called an order to the court and addressed them.

"All those who believe Peter Pettigrew should be found guilty of the murder of James and Lily Potter raise your hand." Almost the entire courtroom raised their hands.

"All those who believe Peter Pettigrew should be found guilty of being a death eater and involved in the resurrection of Lord V-Vodemort raise your hand." Almost the entire courtroom raised their hands.

"All those who believe Peter Pettigrew be found guilty of being an unregistered Animagus raise your hand." Everyone raised their hands.

"The courtroom now proclaims Sirius Black innocent of all charges except being an Animagus. But, if registered today the fine will be lifted seeing as you served twelve years in Azkaban." Applause rang out and Sirius enveloped Harry in a hug which photographers did not miss.

"The courtroom now proclaims Peter Pettigrew guilty of all charges and is hereby sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss a week from today."

The group slipped out of the courtroom after Peter's sentence and made their way to Magical Law Enforcement section. Harry approached Madam Bones warmly and gave her a kiss on her hand.

"Hello Madam Bones. It is a pleasure as always." Harry greeted her.

"Oh Harry, always the charmer. What can I help you with today?" Madam Bones replied.

"I have come to register my Animagus forms as well as my godfather, Sirius Black, whom has just been cleared of all charges." Harry replied and could not keep the smile from his face.

"Yes. Of course, if you would follow me I can lead you to the registration section." Madam Bones said while making them make two lefts and a right before entering a medium sized room with a young man who looked to be twenty-five located sitting at a chair.

"This is Charles Hadson. He will help get you registered and will get you a license." Madam Bones said as Charles stood up. She then left the room.

"Hello. Like Madam Bones said, I am Charles Hadson. What can I help you with today, Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, I heard about the trial, welcome back." He said.

"Thank you." Sirius said. "I would like to get my Animagus form registered as well as Harry's." He said while placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Right this way." He led them to the book where he opened it to a page titled Amimagi. He wrote down the names Harry James Potter and Sirius Orion Black in the name section.

"Okay. I want you answer my questions so I can fill out the information in the chart before we start on the license." Charles said. They nodded so he continued talking.

"Age?" He asked.

"Fifteen." Responded Harry. "Thirty-Seven." Responded Sirius.

Charles made the notes in his book before asking the next question. "Form?"

"Black Dog." Sirius said. "Griffin, owl, panther, unicorn and cobra." Harry responded.

Charles looked at him in disbelief but wrote it down anyway. He would have to prove that he had the forms for his license.

"Markings?"

"None." responded Sirius. "In my griffin and cobra forms I have a lightning bolt patch of fur or scales on him head." Responded Harry.

"Okay. The questions are done. Now I have to take a picture of your forms next to a human model to show the relative size. Here is the human model." He pulled out a mannequin.

Sirius went first and transformed into a dog and stood next the mannequin to take a picture.

Harry then approached the mannequin and asked Charles if he would have room to transform. Charles responded that it would magically expand to accommodate. Harry agreed and then warned them to stand back.

He transformed into his griffin form and stood next to the mannequin. Charles had to back up a little before snapping the picture. Once the first picture was taken, Harry transformed into an owl and the room appeared back to normal. The owl landed on the mannequin's shoulder and Charles took a picture. Harry then flew off the shoulder and transformed into a panther before landing gracefully on the ground. He sat regally next to the mannequin with his tail curled around his body and chin up. Remus and Sirius laughed at this while Charles took a picture. Harry then changed into a unicorn and stood up and Charles took a picture of him. Lastly, Harry changed into a cobra and slid up to waste high on the human before sticking out his blood-red hood and showing off his sharpened teeth. Charles took the picture and Harry transformed back into his human form and walked over to stand beside Sirius who clapped him on the back.

Charles looked amazed at the boy and took out his wand and waved it in the air a couple times while saying a spell that none of them knew. Then, two cards were lying on the desk next to them. Charles picked them up and gave them to Sirius and Harry respectively. They had the information that they needed on it and a picture of what their forms looked like. On Harry's card it was a combination of all the animals. The griffin stood in the background next to the smaller looking unicorn. The owl was perched on the shoulder of the mannequin while the snake was by his side. The panther sat down next the unicorn. It was an extremely cool picture.

They thanked Charles and exited the room. They made it to the exited where they then apparated (Harry side-along apparated) to the gates of Hogwarts.

They then pushed open the gates and walked up to the entrance of Hogwarts. Before they got to the door Harry stopped them.

"Do you mind if I go down in the Chamber of Secrets today. I promised Ollivander that I could get him some basilisk parts to use in his wands." Harry asked the group.

"You can go down today. Remus and Sirius may accompany you. I will ask Professor Snape to do the same since he can correctly harvest the parts. Some are even useful in rare potions and clothing."

Dumbledore left and Remus and Sirius made their way to Remus and Sirius's room. When they got there, Remus spoke the password which was "maurders" before entering the room.

"Okay Aeroterra. It is time to inform you of your mission before you can be titled a Maurder." Sirius began while pacing in front of the couch that Harry had flopped down on. He looked like a military officer causing Harry to hide his face in a pillow to hide his smirk.

"The mission is a prank. It has to involve at least thirty people. The first prank you have to get caught so that you can earn your title and people can recognize you as a prankster. The rest of the times, detention is frowned upon." Sirius continued while pacing in front of the room before he abruptly stopped and turned to look Harry in the eye.

"You have until Friday to complete this task." Sirius said and Harry nodded, already having a prank in mind for a breakfast.

Just then, a knock came from the door. Remus sat up from his sit at the table and answered it. Snape and Dumbledore entered the room and looked at the scene in front of them. Harry was draped across the sofa with one foot prompted up on the armrest which the other dangled from the floor. His arms were clutching a throw pillow which was he was hugging to his chest. Sirius was stand in front of the couch and coffee table with his hands on either side of him.

When the guest entered the room, Harry sprang to his feet and ran to the door excitedly. Sirius was close behind him.

"It would appear someone is excited." Snape said sarcastically to hide his amusement at the boy. It was quite funny to see his personality change from one moment to the next. One moment he would be acting as old as Dumbledore giving advice to those younger than him. The next he would he acting like a trained auror while battling dozens of death eaters. And next thing you know, he is a teenager and is joking around and laying spread out across a sofa.

Harry grinned, oblivious to the professor's train of thought, and glanced up at Dumbledore for confirmation. Dumbledore nodded and said "Lead the way. I am actually quite curious; this castle never seizes to reveal new information. I am definitely curious as to where you found the chamber."

Harry smiled to himself before making his way to the second floor. He walked past all the curious portraits and walked to stand directly in front of the girl's bathroom.

"The girl's bathroom? Really, Potter?" Snape asked with a disgusted look on his face to hide his amusement.

"Well Sor-ry Professor. I didn't exactly chose the location." Harry said before pushing open the door. The bathroom looked the same as he left it. There was a blood stain on the floor by the sink from his second year, a rusted cauldron between two bathroom stalls and a cup which he must have left from when he drank from the Polyjuice potion.

The other followed in and looked at the scene before them. Apparently they all had something to comment about.

"Why is there a cauldron in here?" Snape asked bemusedly.

"Well you see….we were making a potion." Harry replied vaguely while fidgeting from one foot to the other.

"Really?" Snape replied sarcastically. "I would have never have guessed. And what, pray tell, were you brewing?"

"Um… Polyjuice Potion." Harry replied still looking at the ground.

The group looked at him funny. "In your second year?" Remus asked.

"Yeah. It was mainly Hermione though who brewed it. Ron and I simply got the ingredients. But, you can't punish us, can you? I mean we were twelve?" Harry asked.

"No. We cannot." Said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye.

"Why did you need Polyjuice Potion?" Sirius asked.

"Well… I was tired of being called the Heir of Slytherin. So we decided that we were going to discover who the real heir was. Naturally, we thought the heir of Slytherin would be in Slytherin so we made the potion and snuck into the Slytherin common room to investigate."

Snape glared at him. Sirius and Remus looked at each other before bursting out laughing. "Why didn't we think of that?" Sirius asked but before he could get an answer, Moaning Myrtle appeared in front of them.

"Harry? Is that you?" Myrtle asked and with Harry's nod she continued. "My, you have grown. You never visit me anymore ever since that time last year in the prefect's bathroom."

"The prefect's bathroom, Harry?" Sirius asked with a smirk "Have you been everywhere in this castle?" he asked with a laugh.

"I don't really like to be limited to a certain area." Harry replied cheekily then he turned to Myrtle. "I am sorry I have not visited you but I have been very busy."

"Okay." Myrtle sobbed. "But remember, my offer still applies if something goes wrong down there." She left with a giggle.

When she left, Snape turned to him and asked "What offer is she talking about?"

Harry mumbled "If I die down there then I can share her toilet."

Remus and Sirius started laughing and Snape's mouth twitched to Harry's disbelief. Dumbledore smiled.

After that, Dumbledore asked Harry to tell them where the entrance was. Harry led them over to the sink where he stood next to his bloodied footprint. No one asked about it but they knew it was Harry's.

Harry then turned to the sink and said in a hiss "_Open." _

The sinks separated and left a whole just like it did when he was twelve. They connected together to leave an entrance. He turned around to see everyone staring at the new hole in the ground and then he came up with an idea. "_Stairs." _He hissed and stairs popped up around the newly formed hole.

"I wish I thought of adding stairs before. It was quite a long drop." Harry said to the others. Then he walked down the stairs. He reached the bottom and stepped on the bones at the bottom. He looked behind him and saw that the rest were looking at him. He began to tell what happened as he walked along the winding tunnel, leading the group through the maze of pipes. He stopped at the basilisk skin and told them of Lockhart. He then looked at the rocks piled up and pulled out his wand to move them to the side and created a path. He walked though, giving the password whenever needed.

He made it to the main room where he walked straight to the spot where Ginny laid unconscious. He kneeled down on the ground and put his hand down on the icy floor. He then stood up and made his way to the basilisk. He approached it and heard the group behind him stop in their track upon seeing the beast. He raised his hand and touched he snakes head and closed its eyes before turned back to the group.

"How do we get all the ingredients?" Harry asked Snape.

"There is a spell to peel the skin from body then we can accio the important ingredients for the wands and potions before lighting the rest on fire." Snape said.

Snape said the spell to peel the skin from the body. It then collected in a box when it was magically shrunk. He then conjured another box which he called to put all the shrunken teeth into. He then conjured a third box for the basilisk blood which he had put into vital for potions. The forth box was filled with the heart. They then burnt the rest of the snake up.

Harry stared at the empty room before approaching Remus and Sirius and walked up to the stairs and up to the empty bathroom.

Harry later wrote a letter to Ollivander and put some of the ingredients in a box before sending it off with Hedwig. The rest of the ingredients were either given to Snape or Harry kept in order to make potions or clothing.

**

* * *

**

Sunday September 8, 5:20 a.m.

Harry was down by the Quidditch pitch, Firebolt in hand, waiting to see the turn-out for the trials held for the open positions on the team. Today he was dressed in leather pants and white v-neck t-shirt. His combat boots were laced up all the way to his ankle.

Slowly but surely, twenty people made their way down to the pitch with brooms in hand. When they made their way down to the pitch, to Harry's confusion, some of the girls blushed. He shook it off; he would never understand women.

They all stood in front of him with Fred and George Weasley, Angelia Johnson, Katie and Bell behind him as the rest of the team. The positions that were open were Chaser and Keeper.

"Alright everyone can I have your attention?" Harry called out to everyone and they fell silent.

"Thank you." He said before continuing. "Today we will be holding tryouts for the keeper and chaser positions. I want you to move into two groups. Group one will be the chaser, group two will be the keepers. After each group we will deliberate and after the end of tryouts we will call out the team members."

The group split into two and Harry called the first group forward. "Now I want the see five laps around the field." The group of eleven jumped on their brooms and shot into the air. They made their way around the pitch five times while Fred, George, Angelina, Katie, and Harry talked about who was the most at ease on their broom and who they thought needed more work. When the five laps ended, Harry had the group split into pairs and had Angela and Katie practice some of the chaser moves with them across the pitch. They practiced the Hawkshead Attacking Formation, reverse pass, as well as a couple others. After all the groups had gone, they practiced scoring. Harry was the fill-in for the keeper.

They all lined up the air about ten feet from the goal post and attempted to score.

The first person was up and he did not manage to get any goals in. The second person was up and he managed to get in two of the ten. The third person managed to get one. The fourth person got in none. The fifth person managed to get in three. The sixth person managed to get in two.

The seventh person approached. Harry turned and saw that it was Seamus Finnigan who was the best out of all of them and managed to get in five shots out of ten.

The eight through eleventh managed to get in one shot each.

Harry then flew down to the ground in a steep dive and mounted off his broom. He called the chaser over and asked them to wait in the stands for the results.

"Harry! You were an amazing keeper!" Katie Bell called.

"Thanks." Harry said with a slight blush. "Let's see how the rest fair out. Let's you, Angela and I try to score against them."

Harry told the people trying out the plan before flying in the sky and attempting the score against the keepers. Five people went and they managed to score against each of them three times. Next, Ron approached the goalpost. Katie, Angela, and Harry attempted to score against him but nothing went through him. The rest faired okay, but it was clear that Ron was going to be the keeper.

Harry met with the rest of the team and they decided that Ron was the keeper while Seamus was going to be the third chaser.

Harry called down all the people that came out. They faced him in a large mass of worried faces.

"Thank you everyone for coming out today! You all have amazing talent and just because you didn't make it this time does not mean that you cannot make it next year. For this year the new chaser is Seamus Finnigan." Harry stopped speaking to allow for cheers. "And the new keeper is Ron Weasley." There were more cheers. Ron looked like it was one of the happiest days of his life.

Once the news was announced, the people who tried out slowly made their way from the pitch leaving the new team to begin discussing strategy and for Harry to tell them the times that they were meeting.

Harry spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and doing homework. He played a couple of games of chess with Ron as well as practiced Ancient Runes with Hermione.

"Hey Harry! Wanna go out outside and play some soccer?" Seamus, a muggle-born wizard, asked Harry. "I brought some muggle games from at home to Hogwarts this year thinking we needed some new games to play."

"Yeah sure thing. Ron! Come on, let's go play some soccer!" Harry replied.

In five minutes, Harry, Ron, Seamus, Neville, Ginny, Hermione, Collin, Lee, Dean, Fred and George made their way down to a flat field on the Hogwart's grounds to play a game of soccer. They split into two teams. Hermione decided that she was going to read and situated herself under a tree and read a book on House elves. On one team there was Harry, Ron, Seamus, Neville, and Collin. On the other team there was Ginny, Lee, Dean, Fred and George.

They played for an hour with the score tied five to five. They walked slowly up the stairs to the common room and plopped down of the nearest couches near the fireplace of the common room. Harry looked at his watch and realized that it was thirty minutes before he had to go back to his second Order meeting.

He ran up the stairs and took a shower. He wrapped a towel around himself before walking into the dorm rooms. He then pulled out an emerald green t-shirt and a dragon hide vest as well as a lightly faded pair of skinny jeans. He opened his top draw and pulled out a pair of boxers and quickly changed into his clothes. He got dressed quickly and managed to slide his combat boots on while exiting the room. He ran a hand through his almost-dry hair and it proceeded to fall into his usual disheveled, wind-blown shape. He ran down the stairs, through the common room and out the portrait.

He changed into his owl form after looking around and down the halls. He then flew down the stairs, dodging students left and right until he came up to Dumbledore's office where he saw Sirius, Snape, Remus, and Professor McGonagall about to enter the office. He flew and landed on Remus's shoulder slightly out of breath and leaned his head up against Remus's hair to collect his breath. Remus let out a laugh and greeted Harry.

The group stepped onto the staircase and they made their way up the stairs. After knocking on the door, they entered the office. Harry flew off Remus's shoulder and changed into his human form smiling at the old Professor.

"Hello everyone." Dumbledore greeted the group. "Everyone is already here and so if you would follow me." Dumbledore turned and placed his hand on a portrait to the right of his desk. The portrait opened to reveal a large room with a circle table filled with Order members. Dumbledore sat down with Remus to his left and Severus Snape to his right. Sirius sat down next to Remus and Harry sat down with Sirius on his left and Professor McGonagall on his right.

"Welcome everyone to the first Order of the Pheonix meeting of the school year. I would like to start the meeting with a few notices. First, I would like to congratulate Harry for his capture of the deatheaters who attempted to kidnap him from his home." An applause rang out and Harry ducked him head and blushed bright red to everyone's amusement. "Second, I would like everyone to be aware of the freedom of Sirius from the trial that was just held." Another applause rang out and Sirius smiled brightly while Harry patted him on the arm. "Now, unfortunately that is all the good news that I have for today. Severus, if you would kindly report the death eater activity."

Severus stood up while Dumbledore sat down. "The Dark Lord was most displeased with his new recruits whom he trusted to capture Potter." Snape said with a sneer. "He crucioed some death eaters to vent his feelings. Fortunately, I was not there at the present moment." He took a breath and continued. "Right now, the Dark Lord is finding a way to increase his power. He is attempted to suck the power from his victims and is even attempting to recreate powers to make himself stronger." Everyone paled at this news. "Fortunately, he has yet to find a way to artificially create power, as I believe it to be impossible. But, he is coming close to finding a way to suck the power of people he tortures."

Everyone did not look pleased at the new revelation especially Harry, whom after hearing the prophecy found it hard enough to believe he could defeat Voldemort, even without added powers.

Dumbledore stood up and addressed them all. "Voldemort is becoming more active. He has attacked a muggle village and killed twelve muggles before the aurors showed up. Then only good news from this is that the wizarding world acknowledges that Voldemort had returned." Dumbledore cleared his throat before looking at Harry. "I believe that a certain prophecy needs to be heard."

Harry looked up at Dumbledore and saw that there was no arguing against him. Harry stood up and cleared his throat before staring at the wall in front of him. His eyes shone with power, anger, and sadness. He continued to look at the wall while reciting the lines that replayed in his head constantly.

"The One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him… born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."

Once he finished talking he blinked a few times to stop the traitorous tears from flowing over his eyelashes. No matter what anyone believed, he was still fifteen and did not want to purely live his life as a weapon or a tool. He was glad that he was in school and taking classes and for the main part, acting like a regular kid.

After a moment he looked at the shocked faces in front of him. The turned to look at Sirius who looked angry. _Oh my God! I course I shouldn't have told them the prophesy! They know that I am not strong enough. They know that it was my fault for the death of my parents and Cedric. They don't want me anymore. _These were the last thought that slipped Harry's mind before he jumped out of the nearest window and transformed into a griffin a foot before the ground approached.

The room was left to wonder what came over the boy as said boy glided over the glistening water occasionally flapping his wings or trailing his feet in the water. If you looked close enough to the magical animal, you could see that tears were pouring down his face and landing in the already rippling water.


	8. New Beginings

**A/N: Thank you everyone for the reviews. They are much appreciated! Please feel free to read and review, it helps make me want to write more. And the reason for my slow updates is because I am currently in 3 AP and 3 Honors classes so I am pretty much working nonstop so sorry if they take a couple of weeks to be posted. **

**Chapter Eight: New Beginings**

After an hour, Harry got tired and flew down to the shore beside the lake. He transformed into his human form and sat down leaning up against a rock, looking at the lake. After a moment, Hedwig flew down, sensing her Harry's distress, and landed on his knee.

Harry pet her beautiful shinning white feathers and she hooted her thanks.

"_Hedwig, what should I do? I just told the Order the prophesy and I think that they are disappointed in me. And why shouldn't they? I am nowhere near strong enough to defeat Voldemort." _Harry said to Hedwig while still caressing her beautiful feathers.

"_I don't believe that they are disappointed in you, my Harry. They have no reason to be. You have proven that you are old enough to take action and are doing everything you can." _Hedwig hooted.

"_I have been trying hard to train but there is only so much I can do. But, Hedwig, Sirius looked so angry, murderous even. Maybe he blames me for getting my parents killed." _

"_I don't believe that Sirius could feel anything but love for you. You are his Godson. And you did not kill your parents; you were only one when they were killed and could have done nothing." _

"_Thank you Hedwig." _

"_No problem, my Harry." _

Harry continued to sit there and stroke his beloved owl for a couple of minutes. Bellona curled up in his lap and put his head in Harry's hand in a comforting gesture.

Ten minutes later, Sirius came walking down to the shore and sat down next to Harry. It was five minutes before they started talking.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Sirius asks while noticing the blood shot eyes and pink skin obviously from crying.

"I know your mad at me but I couldn't help the prophesy. I didn't know it was my fault they died." Harry responded softly while stroking the scales of his snake.

Sirius, upon hearing Harry's reply, took hold of Harry's shoulders, forcing Harry to turn to look at him. Sirius then lifted Harry's face to look into his eyes. What he saw there made his heart cry out. In Harry's eyes you could always read his emotions. Right now, his eyes shone of pain, sorrow, sadness, and suffering.

Sirius gently wrapped his arms around Harry and let Harry cry onto his shoulder. After a couple of minutes, Sirius pulled back and looked directly in Harry's eyes.

He said, "Harry, it is not your fault that your parents died. If you are looking for someone to blame, blame anyone but yourself; you were only one for Merlin's sake. Blame Voldemort who actually murdered them. Blame Peter for betraying them. Heck, even blame me, I was the one that convinced them to change secret keepers."

Harry, startled my Sirius's words, looked up at his godfather.

"I could never blame you, you didn't do anything wrong. How could you have known that Peter was a traitor?" Harry said.

"And I could never blame you for the same reason." Sirius replied. "Besides, it is in no way your fault."

Harry thought over Sirius's words while he was pulled into a hug. Harry laid his head down on Sirius's chest and thought while Sirius rubbed soothing circles on his godson's back. After a while Harry got out of the embrace and smiled at his godfather.

"Thank you." Harry said.

"Don't worry. Everything is going to work out find, you'll see." Sirius replied while standing up and offering Harry his hand to help him stand. Harry gladly took it and was pulled to his feet. Sirius put his arm around Harry's shoulder and since it was well after ten thirty, led him to the rooms that he was living in. He led Harry to the guest rooms and gently placed him in the bed. Sirius then walked over to his own beds and fell asleep.

**

* * *

**

Monday, September 9, 7:30 a.m.

Harry was seated at Gryffindor table eating a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast. He had just finished his morning workout routine and was beginning to feel like people were watching him. He had no idea that the practically the entire female population and even some of the male population of Hogwarts had crushes on him.

He looked up in time to see that Hermione and Ron had entered the room. Hermione looked like she was talking nonstop, most likely about the O.W.L's while Ron still looked half asleep. Harry chuckled to himself before calling over his best friends.

They looked up at him and smiled while making their way to the middle of the table where Harry was seated between Neville and Dean. They sat across from them.

"Harry, is today your first day in your classes?" Hermione asked.

"Of course it is Hermione, he just finished his O.W.L.s on Friday." Ron said with his mouth full of porridge.

"That is just gross Ronald." Hermione scolded. Ron just swallowed and continued talking. "What did you get on those by the way? I'm sure Hermione is just dying to know."

Hermione playfully shoved him but turned to look at Harry.

"I'm not sure, Dumbledore said that they should be here today so we will probably find out soon." Harry responded.

No sooner had the words left his mouth, the owls started to pour into the Great Hall. An impressive looking owl landed regally on Harry shoulder and held out her leg expectantly. Harry thanked her while speaking in the owl language, much to their surprise.

"Well here goes nothing." Harry said, using his Gryffindor courage to open the important looking envelope. The entire table had their eyes on the nervous looking boy.

Harry began reading the letter to himself.

_Dear Mr. Potter, _

_We are pleased to inform you that you received the highest O.W.L.s in over a century. You also received the highest D.A.D.A. score in history. Enclosed are your marks for the following tests: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Arithmancy. _

_Sincerely Yours, _

_Mathalda Hopkins _

_Ordinary Wizarding Level Head of Examinations_

Harry folded up the parchment for looking at his scores.

_Name: Harry James Potter _

_Age: 15 _

_House: Gryffindor _

_Scale: O (Outstanding), EE (Exceeded Expectations), A (Acceptable), P (Poor), D (Dreadful), T (Troll) _

_Defense Against the Dark Arts_:

_Written: O+ _

_Practical: O+ _

_Overall: O+ _

_Charms: _

_Written: O _

_Practical: O _

_Overall: O _

_Potions: _

_Written: O _

_Practical: O+ _

_Overall: O _

_Care of Magical Creatures: _

_Written: A_

_Practical: O _

_Overall: EE _

_Transfiguration: _

_Written: O _

_Practical: O+ _

_Overall: O _

_Herbology: _

_Written: A_

_Practical: O _

_Overall: EE _

_Arithmancy: _

_Written: O _

_Overall: O _

Harry read and reread the scores. He did not believe that he could get those grades. He believed that those grades were only possible for Hermione.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when Ron asked what he got. He wordlessly handed over his scores.

Ron, who had his mouth full of porridge, spit out the contents of his mouth straight to Neville when he read Harry's scores. The table, who had been watching the fifteen-year-olds, laughed.

When Ron was done, he handed the paper over to an excited Hermione who read the paper in front of her in immediate interest.

When she was done, Hermione smiled at him and hugged him across the table, ignoring the envious looks of some of the nearby girls. Just because Harry did not notice the looks he received, did not mean that Hermione was that clueless.

"Well I guess I better head off to class, I wouldn't want to be late for my first lesson." Ron and Hermione walked with him all the way to the dungeons before turning around to go to their first class.

Slowly, Harry opened the door to the Potions classroom and looked around. He sat down next to a girl who introduced herself as Pamela Clareborine. She had deep brown hair that was to her shoulders and tied in a low ponytail. She smiled warmly at him while he took his seat.

A couple of minutes later, Snape burst through the classroom and everyone became quite.

"Today we will be brewing pepper up potion. The adequate ones" Snape said while looking proudly at his Slytherins "will be used in the hospital which some of you" He looked toward the Gryffindors "will most likely be needing soon."

A couple of the Slytherins snickered and Harry was pleasantly surprised that the insult was not directed at him personally.

"You will be working individually. The instructions are on the board." Snape flicked his wand and the instructions were on the board in the front of the class.

Harry got up from his table and went to the storage room. He spent five minutes collecting all the material that he needed and then headed back to his seat.

He placed all of his materials down on the table and read the first part of the directions twice before following them.

He sliced the bicorn parts and placed half of them in his heated cauldron. He let them simmer while he ground two twigs of billyweed. He stirred the potion counterclockwise three times before adding the rest of the sliced bicorn parts in the pot.

This went on for the next hour with only two cauldrons being blown up in the class. Harry remained focused on his work and before he knew it, it had a perfect potion which he bottled and labeled with his name. He was about to leave when Snape stopped him and asked him to remain after class.

He complied and after a couple of minutes the last students left the potions room.

"Harry" Snape addressed him in a normal tone, lacking scorn, much to Harry's surprise, "I wanted to inform you that you have my respect. It has recently come to my attention that your life is not as I perceived it to be. But, due to the nature of my role as spy for the order, I have to keep appearances in your case, seeing as you are the boy-who-lived."

Obviously waiting for a reply, Harry answered, "I know how important your role is. I just want to know one thing, how did you know about my home life?"

"I was called to check on Privet Drive and your relatives told us of your treatment." Snape responded.

Harry completely forgot about his relatives stay in the castle and made a mental note to check on them later today. But, to Snape he responded, "Do you know where they are staying, Professor?"

"They are staying in the fourth floor right wing under the portrait of the phoenix. The password is 'Seeker' if you wish to visit them."

"Thank you, sir. I best get to Care of Magical Creatures before I miss the next beast which Hagrid classifies as harmless." Harry said while leaving the room, missing the slight twitch of the potion master's lips.

Harry ran down to the grounds so that he would not be late for class. As he had it, he was late for his first sixth year CoMC class with the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws.

The class consisted of about twenty people and they stood in front of the box of ashwinders, having learned the same thing as the fifth years.

Hagrid smiled at him as he made his way to the front of the class; many were too scared to approach the snakes.

"Come on. Come on. These fellows 're 'armless. Come closer." Hagrid called to the class.

Harry approached them and Hagrid told them to take one of the snakes each to draw with a partner. Harry partnered with a Hufflepuff named Stephen Willbe. He seemed reluctant to get near the snakes and Harry thought he could help him out.

Harry approached the box first and put his hand in the box and hissed at the snakes to come onto his arm.

A single snake climbed onto his arm and across his shoulders to lay down. He walked back to his partner and they laid down on the grass while drawing the snake that was currently asleep in the grass. After an hour, they placed the snakes back in Hagrid's care before walking back to the castle for lunch.

When Harry got to lunch, he saw Hermione and Ron sitting with the new Gryffindors. He made his way down the row and sat down next to a nervous looking eleven-year-old.

"Hey Harry." Ron greeted Harry when he sat down across from him.

"Hey." Harry replied while taking a sandwich and putting it on his plate. He took a bite and Hermione introduced him to the first years they were sitting with.

"Harry. This is Justin Webber." She indicated to a small, blonde haired boy who was blusing slightly. "This is Caroline McKinnly." She indicated to a young pale looking girl with auburn hair and brown eyes. "And this is Makinze Naburn." Hermione said while indicating to the short haired brunette. "Everyone this is Harry Potter." She said to the group.

The group looked up at him and Harry smiled down and them and greeted them all with their correct names.

After a couple of minutes Hermione asked him how his classes went.

"They went great." Harry responded. "In Potions I completed a perfect pepper up which no doubt I will be using this year." Harry said with a laugh. "I stayed after and Snape told me that I had earned his respect. Anyway, I went to Care of Magical Creatures and we were doing snakes and you know how much I love them so the class went by great."

"That's fantastic Harry. Ron and I both had Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws. It went by great! I am so glad that Professor Lupin is back." Hermione responded.

"Yeah." Ron piped in. "He says that we are even going to have a school wide dueling competition this year before Christmas break. It sounds like fun. The winner gets a hundred galleons and the chance to compete in the world-wide school duel."

"That does sound like fun." Harry responded. "How about you guys? How were your classes?" Harry asked the first years.

"Well we had Transfiguration first with the Ravenclaws. There were a group of them that already knew how to switch the match into a needle. I think they told Professor McGonagall that you taught them. Anyway, by the end of the class most of us got it. Then we had Charms and we are learning how to levitate objects." Justin answered for the group.

Harry and Ron looked over a Hermione when they mentioned the levitation spell and they all smiled at each other before responding.

"Well if you guys need any help you know where to find us." Hermione responded. "And on Saturday we are holding the meeting for the first years for help and storytelling."

"Thanks." Caroline responded.

"Well we better leave to go to class." Hermione said while standing up. Ron made his way to Divination, Hermione went to Arithmancy, and Harry went to Herbology.

Harry walked down the paths using all the short cuts he knew and ended up standing outside the greenhouse with a minute to spare.

He walked in the classroom and walked up next to Pamela whom we sat next to in Potions and greeted her. She smiled warmly back and introduced him to the group that she was standing with.

In class, they worked on planting sislic plants. This plant when in contact with skin causes the skin to turn pink and purple. They are used in potions that change the color of an object. Harry thought that his father and friends probably used this plant on more than one occasion.

Once the class ended, Harry began to walk to the Ancient Runes classroom where he was going to be with his peers. He had never been to the room before but he made it there with three minutes to spare and sat down next to Hermione in the second row to the left. She smiled at him when he sat down and they both took out parchment to take notes on. The class went my relatively smoothly expect for the occasional glare from Malfoy whom was in class with them.

Hermione and Harry walked out of the classroom and made their way to the Divination Tower to pick up Ron before eating dinner together early in the kitchens. They talked about lessons and Harry, surprisingly, could keep up a debate with Hermione with relative ease.

They made it to the Divination Tower in time to see a sleepy Ron climb down the stairs. Harry smiled and called out Ron's name making him jump and glare at Harry who just smiled innocently back at him.

"I'll have you know that I just had a relaxing class just now and you woke me up from my sleep walking." Ron said.

"Well Hermione and I were going down to the kitchens for dinner so…" Harry left the statement open to him and Ron totally forgot his mood in order to focus his attention on food.

The trio made their way down to the kitchens and Harry tickled the pear before entering the busy kitchen. They barely stepped foot inside before an exited house elf by the name of Dobby came crashing into Harry's legs. Harry pat the house elf on the head before bending down to give the creature a hug which Dobby eagerly returned.

After a couple of seconds, Harry pulled out of the hug.

Dobby bounced up and down while asking Harry if he needed anything. "Does the greatest and most wonderful Harry Potter need anything to eat? How about anything for his Weezy or his Granger?" Dobby asked.

"We actually came down here for an early dinner. Maybe something quick and easy to make?" Harry asked.

"Anything for Harry Potter sir." Dobby said excitedly. "I'll get you something right away."

Dobby came back two minutes later carrying soups, sandwiches, and fruits. He popped away and came back again with cups of pumpkin juice.

"Thank you Dobby." Harry said. Dobby left with a watery smile and a bow.

The trio talked about classes and past times until it was time for Harry to go to Dueling Class.

**

* * *

**

Tuesday September 10, 8:00 a.m.

Harry planned for his first prank to be this morning at breakfast. He made his way to the center of the Gryffindor table where Ron, Hermione, and Neville were sitting. He sat down next to Neville and waited for the hall to fill with students.

After fifteen minutes, everyone was in the Hall and harry took a deep breath and prepared for his first prank. He pointed his finger at the staff table and the spoon that Dumbledore was going to put in his mouth stood up and flung its contents only the older man's face. All the utensils in all staff table did the same thing. Everyone turned their attention to the show and were preoccupied to see that their own utensils were preparing to the do the same thing to them. All the silverware stood up and slowly they began to dance. They formed a line down the center of each table and they did the Macarena all down the table. When they got to the end of the table, between the staff and student areas they stopped and began to move around. They positioned themselves into the form of a griffin before charging down the rows making bangs and clangs all throughout the whole time. They formed into the five different Animagus forms and then they made their way to the beginning of the stage. With the final bow, all the students from different houses were changing into the different mascots. The Gryffindors changing into baby griffins, the Ravenclaw changed into ravens, the Hufflepuffs changed into badgers, and the Slytherins changed into snakes. The only student left standing was Harry and he took a couple of bows before changing into an owl and flying up to the staff table to land himself on Sirius's shoulder and hooted. Sirius and Remus laughed and laughed until they had tears streaming down their face. Dumbledore a moment later said a spell and all the students were put back to normal. Harry leapt off Sirius's shoulder and landed on his feet as a human.

"So, how did I do?" Harry asked.

"Bloody Brilliant!" Sirius responded.

"Yes. It was. Welcome to the Maurders, cub." Remus said. "I believe that someone wants a word with you."

Harry turned around to be confronted with Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter. First off, I am here to give you detention for the marvelous prank." She said with a smile. "no matter what people think I happen to enjoy a few harmless pranks now and again but they cannot go unpunished. Professor Snape would like for you to accompany him to the Forbidden Forrest in search of potion ingredients that need to be fresh picked. He seems to believe that you are the only student smart enough to go with him." She said this with a smile. "Second, I wanted to thank you for your help with a group of first year Ravenclaws. They could not stop talking about you and how much you helped them in class. I don't think I have ever seen a group understand it as quickly as that group. Now, your dentition will be held tomorrow at six and you will meet with Professor Snape by Hagrid's Hut."

**

* * *

**

Wednesday September 11, 5:50 p.m.

Harry had just finished his Quidditch practice and a quick shower. He was talking to Hagrid and was waiting to begin his dentition. They talked about the new creatures that Hagrid was planning to have in class.

At exactly 6:00 Snape was standing with Harry at the edge of the forest. They made their way into the forest to begin with the exploration. Every couple of minutes Snape would tell him to collect a certain ingredient and place it in the backpack that was on his back.

It was 6:40 when they ran into trouble. Harry had warned Snape not to go down that path as he recognized it from his second year. Snape ignored him and continued on the path. They reached the center of a clearing where Snape found a couple of ingredients that he needed. Once he stood up there was a huge spider standing in front of them. Smaller, but still large, spiders were climbing all among the trees and on the forest floor. Snape's eyes shot around the area looking for an exit; he found none.

He looked at the boy next to him who looked to be debating what to do. Eventually, must to Snape's horror, Harry approached the spider.

"Aragog." Harry said while performing a small bow. Snape was amused and surprised to know that Harry knew the name of the large creature.

"Hello Harry, friend of Hagrid. I thought I told you that those who wonder on our land are open feed for my children. How can I deny them food when it walks so willingly onto our home?" Aragog responded.

"I am surprised. I would have thought I earned your respect." Harry responded drawing himself into full height.

"Why do I have reason to be impressed by you?" Aragog responded.

"I have killed the basilisk that you fear the most. I have murdered the beast that victimizes your nightmares. I have allowed you a peaceful relation in the forest." Harry responded.

"You mean to tell me that you killed the great snake?" Aragog asked.

"Yes. And I will prove it. There is still blood on the sword which I killed it with." Harry said this while pulling out the sword.

He placed the sword down on the ground and Aragog approached it and smelled it. He lifted his head and looked at the man in front of him.

"I smell both your blood and the blood of the beast on the sword. I will give you my respect. My children will do you no harm and I will spread my warning to the others in the forest to not harm you the same." Aragog said and bowed deeply in front of Harry.

"Thank you. May you and your children live long." Harry said and he departed.

When Snape caught up with the fast moving Gryffindor, much to Harry's surprise, he thanked him.

"It was really no problem." Harry said trying to avoid the subject.

"I thank you all the same. I obviously chose the right student to accompany me on such an adventure." Snape responded. "Though I did not know you could be so cunning."

"The hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, you know." Harry said.

Snape thought about that for a minute and was surprized to note that the news did not take him by surprize- he realized that Harry embodied the best qualities of each house.

After that accident, the two began to talk more. Harry learned more about Snape that night then he knew about him in the years previously. It was 8:30 by the time that they got back to Hogwarts.


	9. Ordinary Days to Carnivals

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. **

**A/N: I am going to start making the chapters shorter so that I can update quicker so this chapter is the begining of the shorter chapters. I also want to thank everyone for thier reviews, they are mcuh appricated and help in motivating me to write. Thank you! **

**Chapter Nine: Ordinary Days to Carnivals**

**Thursday September 12, 8:45**

Harry was standing in front of a group of third year Ravenclaws and Gryffindors with Remus at his side.

"Today we will be working on Boggarts." Remus said. "Can anyone tell me what Boggarts are?"

A girl with wavy brunette hair raised her hand.

"Sarah" Remus said to the girl for her to answer the question.

"A Boggart is a shape shifter. It takes the shape of whatever the person fears the most." She replied using the textbook definition, much like Hermione did in her third year.

"Perfect. 5 points to Ravenclaw." Remus responded.

There were a few claps before Remus got to continue lecturing.

"The incantation for this particular spell is Riddikulus. But, the spell is the easy part. You have to concentrate and make what you fear into something funny. Laughter is what truly destroys a boggart."

Remus had the third years practice the saying the spell while Harry and he walked around and corrected any mispronunciations. After a couple of minutes, he called everyone's attention.

"Harry is going to demonstrate how to perform the spell in the presence of a boggart. Beware, his boggart is a dementer for what he fears most is fear itself." Remus lectured.

Harry moved to the front of the class and got ready for when Remus was going to open the chest where the boggart was hiding. Remus opened the chest and out came a dementer in all of its glory. The class let out a couple of gasps before Harry said "Riddikulus" and the dementer turned into dancing ballerina that danced in place.

The class let out a few chuckles before Remus had them moving into a line to test them. Harry and Remus stood on either side of the chest ready to help those that needed the extra help. The first boy approached and the boggart changed into a vampire. He said the incantation and on the second try he turned the vampire into a clown. This continued until the entire group finished.

"I want an eleven inch essay on Boggarts to be turned in next class." Remus said before all the students filled out.

Remus turned to Harry once everyone left.

"Thanks for your help today. Did you need any help with your homework?" Remus asked.

"No. I have a free period now and all I have left to do is ancient runes and half of my charms essay. I figured I could have them done and have dinner with you and Sirius in your room before my perfect duties, if that is all right with you?" Harry asked.

"It's no problem at all. You know you're always welcome to come." Remus said smiling.

"Thanks, I'm going to go to the common room to get this done. I'll see you around 6:30!" Harry called out while exiting the room.

He got to the common room in a couple of minutes where he sat at one of the tables and took out his half complete charms assignment. They had to write about the effects of the bubblehead charm while under the water. After thirty minutes, he finished writing and revising his essay. He was about the start his ancient runes reading when Lavender Brown came up to him.

"Hi Harry." Lavender said while batting her eyelashes.

"Hi Lavender." Harry responded while pulling out his ancient runes textbook.

"I was hoping you would be able to help us with a carnival that Dumbledore is letting us host on Saturday the 30th. He was going to announce it tonight at dinner." Lavender asked.

"I guess. How can I help?" Harry answered reluctantly.

"We need someone to be in the dunk tank. It is going to be a like a muggle carnival and that is the last spot that we need filled." She responded.

"I guess. I just have to wear a bathing suit?" Harry asked.

"Yep. It is going to be the 30th and your shift is from 12:30 to 4:00." She replied.

Harry made a note on the calendar that Hermione gave both him and Ron at the beginning of the year before starting his ancient runes reading. He got half way done before he went down to lunch. He sat down next to Ginny who was across from Ron and Hermione.

They greeted him as he sat down and they continued their conversation about which class was the best. Hermione argued that ancient runes were the most fascinating. Ron said that Defense Against the Dark Arts was the most useful. Ginny said that Transfiguration and Charms were the ones that they would use the most in daily life.

"What do you think Harry?" Ginny asked.

"Well, ancient runes is extremely fascination but not that applicable in life. Defense is extremely important but defense can be picked up in the different class because it is how you apply the spells that make them useful. Charms is one of my favorite subjects also and I think it is the most useful in day-to-day life but not much more. Finally, transfiguration is useful and can be great in combat. It is also extremely fascinating. So, I guess I would have to pick Transfiguration though I see the importance in each." Harry ended his speech.

No one really seems surprised by his diplomatic answer for they had gotten used to the new Harry that was intelligent, brave, cunning, loyal, and diplomatic.

"I see your points Harry but really, nothing can…" Hermione kept up the debate until it was time to go to Potions. They all departed.

Harry raced down the stairs to the dungeons and got in class just in time. He made it just in time and in class they made Verumobsera potion which made the drinker spill one of their deepest secrets. By the end of the class, everyone had their potion ready to test out in front of the class.

One by one everyone got to the front of the class and said a secret. They ranched from still sucking their thumb to having a crush on Harry Potter. When that secret was revealed, Harry could not keep down the dark crimson blush that rose to his checks.

"Lastly, Mr. Potter." Snape called out.

Harry made his way to the front of the classroom with his potion in hand. Once he was standing in the middle of the room, he gulped down the potion in one chug and waited a moment. A moment later he heard someone talking and he recognized it as himself though he did not know that he was talking.

"I have more powers than a regular person and I am still growing. I am the only one who has the power to defeat Voldemort."

He quietly walked back to his chair with his head down and he was thankful when the bell rang and he scurried away from the classroom.

He kept walking, with his book bag slug haphazardly over his shoulder, until he was outside in the bright sun. He walked straight to his favorite climbing tree that he found last year and recklessly climbed half way up. If anyone were to watch him, they would say that he looked something like a panther.

He placed his bag next to him on a large tree branch and took out his ancient runes book where he spent the next hour and a half reading the section until he had it memorized. He then took the time to organize his mind of everything he learned that day, something that he had begun doing every day since the summer. His mental library was extensive due to his thirst for knowledge that seemed to never be quenched.

It took five minutes of sitting in the tree while playing with his family ring to get bored. He made his way back into the castle where he decided to check up on his 'family' for the second time that week.

He went up to the fourth floor and turned to the right wing where he proceeded to go up to the phoenix portrait and said the password, 'seeker,' before walked in the room.

_

* * *

_

Dear Diary,

_My relatives are spending their last week here at the castle. I can't say that I'm sad they are leaving because I am not. They have spent the majority of my life making me feel miserable and I am not going to easily change my opinion of them with a few kind words. _

_Dudley, surprisingly, has become interested in the magical world once inside Hogwarts. I guess Hogwarts can do that to a person. He asks a lot of questions now and I can sometimes think of him as a true cousin. More like a cousin that changed his abusive ways. _

_Petunia finally got her chance to be in Hogwarts. During this visit with her, she told me that she was always jealous of my mother for being magical. She even wrote a letter to Dumbledore when she was little, begging to be taken to Hogwarts. I guess she got her wish now. _

_Vernon remains the same. Even though I saved their lives, he cannot help but think of me as a freak. He continues to belittle me and I am beginning to think that it is just in his nature now. It is engraved in his being that he has to be mean to Harry James Potter. _

_Anyway, Dumbledore has set up wards around their house and they each carry around a portkey to the castle that can be activated by voice command. They should be safe because Voldemort was not truly after them. _

_I should end now to finish my Potions essay but I will write back soon. _

_Sincerely, _

_Harry James Potter _

* * *

**Saturday September 30, 12:30**

Harry stepped out of the changing area wearing nothing by royal blue swim trunks. He walked up to the dunking booth where he was to take his shift. As he was approaching, he did not noticing the lust-filled stares of the people he passed. He arrived at the booth and saw that Terry Boot was just ending his turn.

Harry called out to him and he climbed down the ladder.

"Hey man." Terry said.

"Hey. I guess you can go enjoy the carnival. My shift starts now." Harry said.

"Thanks. I'll talk to you later." Terry replied.

Harry sighed and climbed up the ladder and sat down of the board.

It only took a minute before there was a line to try and dunk Harry. The line mostly consisted of girls who wanted to get a better look at his body so he did not need to worry about getting wet because they were not skilled with the quaffle.

Some Slytherins came up from the Quidditch team and managed to dunk him several times before they got bored when they could not get a rise out of him.

A hour into his shift, Ginny came by to talk to him.

"Hey Harry." Ginny called out.

"Hey Gin. Sorry I haven't had a chance to talk much since school began. How have you been?" Harry asked.

"Good. I guess. Fourth year isn't so bad but they are starting early on the O.W.L. lectures." Ginny replied with making a face.

Harry laughed and replied. "Don't worry so much about them. They weren't as hard as I was led to believe."

"Easy for you to say, you already took them." Ginny replied while crossing her arms good-naturedly.

Harry smiled and responded, "If you need any help, you know where to find me."

"No, actually I don't. You have the weirdest schedule." Ginny said.

"Oh. I know my schedule is a mess but it shouldn't take me too long until I get used to it. I'll give you a copy so you know when I'm free. I have most evenings off and the weekends but I like to spend some time with the younger students and Remus and Sirius now that my relatives are gone." Harry said.

"Well I wouldn't mind spending time with the younger students with you. It sounds like fun." Ginny said.

"Sounds good to me. The next time I am meeting up with them is 4:30 on Tuesday. I'll get you then." Harry said.

"Okay. I'll see you then. Bye, Harry!" Ginny said before departing.

"Bye Gin!" Harry called out to her retreating back.

Ron, Hermione, and Neville came by at the end of the shift and waited for him to change before enjoying the carnival. Harry changed into a pair of his black leather pants and white v-neck shirt. His hair was partly dry due to the sun streaking down.

"Hey mate." Ron called out when he saw Harry exit the changing room.

"Hey Ron. Hey Neville. Hi Hermione." Harry greeted them all.

"Hello Harry. We were just planning to go on the roller coaster. You up for it?" Hermione asked.

"Sounds great. I've never actually been on a roller coaster before." Harry responded.

"Never been on a roller coaster? Harry, you grew up in the muggle world!" Ron responded.

"Oh, well you can always go on one now." Neville responded, knowing vaguely why Harry would never have gone on a roller coaster. He heard through Ron that his relatives never treated with fairly or with the respect that he deserved. Their relationship was on the mends right now for he had seen Harry showing his cousin around the castle once before.

They approached the roller coaster labeled The Griffin. The seats were in the shape of a griffin and the ride had many loops and sharp turns. They waited in line for a couple of minutes before climbing into the cart and taking off. Hermione was the worst out of all of them. She had wind-blown hair which Harry noticed was no longer bushy but curly. In the end, she had a sit down before they continued their adventure. No matter how many wild, death-defying adventures they went on together, she could not stand the sensation of flying. Neville, who had never been good at flying was looking a little green after the trip and Harry could tell that he was grateful with they took a break. Ron and Harry had grins on their faces after the ride for them, being Quidditch players, obviously loved the feeling of flying.

Speaking of flying, Harry was having a fun time preparing the Gryffindor Quidditch team for the upcoming Slytherin vs. Gryffindor next Saturday. The Slytherins better watch out especially because there were scouts coming to watch the game.


	10. The First Quidditch Game

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the world of Harry Potter or any of the characters.

**A/N: **I am so sorry on how long it took me to get this chapter up. I hope you enjoy even though I am a new writer and had no idea how to write this Quidditch game. I think I am going to start writing a preview and what the subject of the next chapter is going to be on so give me your feedback on that idea. That way you can make suggestions on how you want the story to pan out because I am jsut writing as I go besides the ending which I have a definite plan for.

Besides my story did you guys see the previews for the seventh movie! My heart just about stopped while watching the preview because I am that excited!

Anyhow, enjoy this new chapter and remember that my chapters now are going to be slightly shorter so don't ne disappointed if it isn't the long lengths my begining chapters were. :)

**Chapter Ten: The First Quidditch Game**

**Tuesday October 2, 4:00 p.m. **

Harry was sitting down in the Gryffindor common room on one of the oversized couches waiting for Ginny to come down. Harry had invited her to come visit the younger Ravenclaws with him. Madeline, Harry, and the other first year Ravenclaws had gotten extremely close over the weeks and he looked forward to the time that he got to spend with them. They were part of what he considered to be his family.

"Harry." He was called out of his musing when he heard his name being called. He looked up to see Ginny walking down the stairs. Her auburn hair swinging wildly as she practically hopped down the stairs.

"Hey Ginny. Are you ready to go?" He asked her as she got nearer.

"Yeah. I never actually been to the Ravenclaw common room. Where is it?" She asked.

"Oh. It's no big deal. I'll just lead the way." He replied while starting toward the portrait.

Ginny followed close behind and Harry asked her how she was doing.

"I'm doing fine in classes right now but my love life took a turn for the worse." Ginny replied while shaking her head.

"How so?" Harry replied. They, after all, had regular correspondence over the summer and knew a lot about each other.

"Well you know Ron. He is always trying to protect me. I know he is trying to be the big older brother and protector, but it is really starting to get on my nerves." She said. "Why can't he be more like you?"

"You know how…wait a minute. You think of me as your brother?" Harry asked.

"Of course, why won't I?" She asked back.

"I don't know. Maybe cause we're not related and you used to have a crush on me?" Harry smiled at her.

Ginny had the decency to blush at the last comment then she hit his shoulder. "Prat." She said and then she got smiled fondly and said. "You may not be my brother my blood but you are more definitely my brother by heart."

Harry smiled at her and they walked to the common room talking about lighter subjects like the upcoming Quidditch meet. Harry has been working hard to prepare the team for the meet because a scout was going to come and view the game. They were even talking about recruiting people this year so Harry was excited. He knew that he was going to be at Hogwarts just as long as Ron and Hermione as long as he continued Ancient Runes and Astronomy where he was in fifth year level, but he was excited at the prospect of playing professional Quidditch.

They reached the entrance to the common room and Harry spoke the password.

"Celtic Mythology." Harry whispered.

The portrait winked at him as he entered.

The blue room was filled with five excited first years who, once seeing Harry, charged to be by his side.

"Hello Madeline." Harry said to the young girl currently hugging him.

"Hey Harry. I missed you. What are we going to do today?" She asked. The other nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well, the weather is actually perfect out today. There is a breeze, so we might need sweaters but I was hoping to hang out outside for a bit." Harry said.

"Sounds like a good idea." Madeline said and the others voiced their agreement.

The young Ravenclaws ran upstairs to get their sweaters while Harry wandlessly summoned a light gray sweatshirt for himself and a green cardigan for Ginny.

Harry was now clad in his trademark combat boots lazed lazily up, a pair of light wash skinny jeans, a white button up shirt and his light gray sweatshirt.

Ginny was wearing dark wash jeans and a striped v-neck sweater. Completing the outfit was the green cardigan which she gratefully slid onto herself after thanking Harry.

After a couple of minutes, the group of seven made their way through Hogwarts and out onto the fresh grass. Harry immediately pulled his face up to hit the sun and his face was bathing in a pool of light. For some reason he also felt complete when he was outside in the sun, like a part of him was missing when he was inside.

The group walked down to the trees and tried to decide what to play.

"Hide-and-Go-Seek" said one boy.

"Tag" said a girl.

"How about Harry turns into a griffin?" a shy little girl asked.

There were a couple of yeah and some head bobbing until Harry said he would do it.

"Okay. I'm just going to step back and change."

Harry took some steps back and changed into his griffin form.

The little kids and Ginny went around him and climbed and pet him for a good half hour.

Ginny stood next to him and pet behind one of his ears making him purr. This earned a good laugh.

Toward the end of the half hour, Harry, as a griffin, laid down and placed his head between his paws. He then changed into a unicorn which brought about a gasp but many cheers. He let them pet his golden and silver hair and after a while, let them ride on him.

Madeline went first. She approached him and pet his head. Harry leaned into the touch and nuzzled her hand. She giggled before he brought himself onto his knees indicating that she could climb into his back.

She climbed on and they pranced around the lake slowly. All of them had a turn and by the time he was done, his leg muscles were killing him. Who knew that hanging out with kids could be such a workout?

It was around six o'clock when they headed back inside. Everyone but Harry and Madeline had left to their rooms to put away their sweater and to prepare for the rest of their day.

Harry bent down so that he was eye level with Madeline and drew her into a hug. He was not normally one to initiate contact with someone because he only felt comfortable around his friends but Madeline easily became part of his 'family.'

She hugged him back and held onto him. When he was about to let go he felt her place a sisterly kiss on his neck and she whispered "I love you big brother."

He felt his eyes glaze over and he hugged her tighter and whispered "I love you too little sister."

They hugged for a little longer before breaking apart and saying their goodbyes.

He made his way back to his room where he was greeted by Bellona. His roommates were at first apprehensive about having a snake in their room. After all, snakes were meant to be dark creatures, but they knew Harry. Harry was one of the nicest people that they knew and knew for a fact that if nothing else was true, they knew that he was on the light side. And even when they accepted him owning the snake, they still did not want to go anywhere near it.

"_Hello Harry. How was your evening?" _she hissed and crawled out from her cage which sat atop his dresser.

"_Hello Bellona. My day wassss great. I actually have only one assssignment to do tonight. Why do you ask?" _He replied while putting his sweatshirt in the dirty clothes bin to the left of the room.

"_I was simply talking with Hedwig earlier and she was in the mood for some flying. I told her that I would convey the message?" _Bellona replied while sliding onto Harry's bed.

"_Thank you. I'll head down to the owlery now?" _Harry responded.

He then left the room and made his way to the opposite side of Hogwarts to the owlery. Once he got there he called out for Hedwig and he watched as his beautiful snowy owl flew gracefully from her perch and onto his awaiting arm.

He walked to a bench and cast a simple wandless cleaning charm (he learned from his 1001 Household Charms You Have to Know) onto it before sitting down and letting Hedwig maneuver herself onto his knee.

"Hello my Harry." Hedwig chirped out in greeting.

"Hello beautiful. Bellona tells me that you want to go out flying?" Harry stated in a question.

"Yes. Would you like to go with me?" She asked. "It is awfully lonely flying by yourself."

Harry smiled at her.

"Right now I need to eat dinner and afterward I have prefect duties and then after that I have to complete my Transfiguration essay. So, do you think you could wait until tomorrow?" he asked.

She ruffled her feather and replied rather dejectedly, "I guess. I know your busy." If birds could gift puppy dog eyes, he would be in the midst of receiving them right now. Hedwig looked pleadingly at Harry as if silently asked him to change his mind.

"I'm sorry Hedwig." He said while caressing her white feathers "I promise to fly with you tomorrow."

He walked down to the dining hall where he made sat next to Ron and Hermione who were in the midst of discussing their charms assignment. This castle was definitely home. He had two people call him brother today and he was surrounded by people that he loved. He signed and thought that he was one of the luckiest people alive.

* * *

Saturday October 6, 2:00 p.m.

Harry was giving the team the traditional prep talk before the Quidditch game. The Gryffindors were going to play against the Slytherins. It was going to be one of the most exciting games played. Scouts were even coming to view potential professional Quidditch team players.

"Everybody here was chosen for a reason. We all have talent. And through we have flaws, our skills and natural talents far outweigh anything that you may have doubts about because if not, you would not be on this team." Harry said.

"We have Ron. Our new and unbeatable keeper who if he keeps his cool and remains calm lets not a single quaffle by him!" Harry said and the team cheered while Ron turned a red that rivaled the color of his hair.

"We have Angelia and Katie who have been members of this team for a long time. This is for a reason: they are extremely talented. They are unstoppable and with them, our team will lead to victory!" Harry said and the team cheered once again.

"Seamus Finnegan. Our new chaser. I don't know what else to say but that he is bloody talented! He came to his team this year and has easily merged to being able to play alongside Angelia and Katie with ease. I can't wait to see everyone's face when you guys pull off some of your new moves." Harry said.

"Fred and George. Gred and Forge. They are two buldgers themselves. We will manage to stay safe on the field with those two." Harry said with a laugh.

"I want everyone to go out there and play your best and beat those Slytherins! We are by far the better team! We have trained harder and longer and deserve to win today. What do you guys say?" Harry finished.

The team responded in cheers as they stood out onto the field in position. Harry at the lead with the rest of the team behind him, forming an arrow each person holding their broom in their hands. They marched onto the field determined and meet the Slytherin team in the middle of the field.

"Captain, shake hands." Madam Hooch called out.

Harry walked to the middle of the field and shook hands with the other captain, Marcus Flint. Well, it could not considered shaking hands but it was more of the Slytherin trying the Gryffindors hand.

He walked back to his formation and on the count of three, they all rose into the air.

Harry rose higher than the others and watched as he readied himself for their plan of action. He was to distract the Slytherin chasers while making sure to get the quaffle to either Angelia, Katie, or Seamus. The tricky part is that the seekers are not allowed to touch the quaffle with their hands. But, the rules never say anything about using the broom-in fact, there have been quite a few seekers that have been known to do so for their team. It was hard and took a lot of practice but Harry had finally nailed it down-they did not call him a natural for nothing.

He looked below at the game after briefly scanning the sky for the golden snitch. He saw that a Slytherin chaser was in current possession of the ball and was headed toward the Gryffindor goal post. Harry darted down directly in front of her making her swearve to the side of the pitch. He followed after her. Apparently, the other chasers noticed this and formed a triangle around him. He briefly sped up so that he was in front of her and then dived down so that he was in a sloth grip under her. In the meantime, Fred and George had enough time to hit a bludger at the triangle causing the chaser to drop the quaffle. Harry, being below her, hit the quaffle with the end of his broom to Angelia, who was waiting to his right for the ball.

She was able to catch the ball and soon had it cradled carefully in one arm and was flying at breakneck speed to the Slytherin goalpost.

The Slytherin chasers, who had lost focus with the bludger coming at them, refocused and were soon after her.

The Slytherin beaters, Crabbe and Goyle, were looking down at the scene. They were mainly picked for their weight, and not for their talent.

Harry, realizing his part was done after Angelia passed the quaffle to Seamus who scored the first point of the game, flew back up and circled around the pitch, searching for his beloved snitch.

He did a couple laps around the top of the pitch, ignoring the scathing looks that Malfoy was sending his way. He took his time warming up his muscles by occasionally using his hands to lift himself off the broom and pointed his toes parallel to the broom. He did this a couple of times while flying to work up his balance.

After twenty minutes of warming up and searching for the snitch, Harry was brought out of his exercising when Nicolas Silver, the new announcer from Hufflepuff, made the announcement of another score.

"And the Slytherin Chaser, O'Neil, has the quaffle. She is dodging all the bludgers that Weasley and Weasley have been sending his way. Those two make quite the pair. Anyhow, he is approaching the goalpost of Gryfflindor, hoping to make the Slytherins' first score of the evening. Oh! It looks like Bell, Gryffindors' chaser has stolen the quaffle. The score still remains Gryffindor 50-Slytherin 0."

Harry jumped up onto his broom much like he did during the summer and used it as a snowboard to float around the top of the sky. He tilted his broom so that he was flying downward in a steep slope. He was using this as a momentary distraction for Seamus to regain the quaffle which had been stolen by O'Neil.

"Will you look at that! Potter, Gryffindor captain and seeker is standing atop his broom on a steep path toward the ground. What is that guy thinking? He might be the youngest seeker of the century but I have never seen anything like this before!" Silver, the announcer shouted through the loudspeaker.

Everyone, including O'Neil, looked as Harry plummeted to the ground. When he reached 6 inched before the ground, he pulled up sharply and winked at O'Neil who had the quaffle taken from him in the distraction.

"Ha ha ha! Potter used his stunt as a momentary distraction and now Bell is in possession of the ball. I think that was an all-time first and deserved a name: The Potter Plummet!" Silver's voice rang out among the crowd.

Cheers were heard from the Gryffindor side of the stadium and Harry took his time gliding along the pitch. After he got bored and realized he was away from his snitch search long enough, he did a backflip and landed in a sitting position on his broom. The crowd cheered as he took off on a steep slope to the top of the pitch.

He listened to the rest of the game on the announcements as he searched for the snitch. He had been away from the search for long enough and knew that his team was tiring. It had been an hour and a half that the game had been occurring.

He flew lazily, eyes trained on any glistening object. He let the wind currents take him as he left his legs dangle over the side of the broom. It was after ten minutes that he finally noticed something on the ground. He saw the golden snitch at the bottom of the Slytherin goalpost, about three inched from the ground.

He looked and saw Malfoy over at the other side of the pitch and smirked to himself. He flew at a breakneck speed to the top of the goalpost. He looped through the goals and spiraled down and around the post. The crowd was on their feet as he continued to plummet farther and farther down. It was at three inched when his hand finally came in contact with the fluttering object and he quickly clung to it and pulled up, letting his feet train the ground. He then flew up to the middle of the pitch and showcased his prize to the waiting crowd.

Nicholas Silver announced "Gryffindor wins the first match of the Quidditch season! A tremendous win, 210-0!"

It was in the next moment that everyone was shocked. Marcus Flint took hold of one of the clubs from the beaters and hit a series of two bludgers directly at Harry. Harry, for his part, did not expect to have bludgers thrown at him and was hit with them both.

The first one hit his left shoulder and he heard a distinctive crack. He winced and let out a gasp. The second one caused the most damage. It hit him straight in the stomach. Letting out a strangled breath, he fell 50 feet to the ground after being knocked unconscious. If it wasn't for Dumbledore casting another Aresto Momento spell then Harry would have had a lot more damage.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sirius and Remus were watching Harry play one of the most impressive games they had ever seen, including the time they went to the Quidditch finals of what the muggles would call Olympics but in the wizarding word are known as WizOlympics.

They watched as he flew around the pitch helping the chasers receive the quaffle.

They watched as he stood on his broom and flew straight to the ground. They were going to have to talk about to him about that because they almost had a heart attack.

They watched as he caught the snitch after an impressive dive.

Finally, they watched as he got hit with two bludgers after the game ended. They saw Dumbledore slow down his fall. He, with unknown speed for an old man, raced down the pitch, passed all the shocked face, and summoned a stretched. With loving care, he picked up with broken body of the boy he thought of as a grandson, and gently placed him on a stretcher and loved him to the hospital wing.

Remus was the first to wake from his stupor and hit Sirius, calling him away from his thoughts. They both raced after Dumbledore while the rest of the people were left to either leave or stand there stupidly.

**

* * *

**

Saturday, October 6, 6:00 p.m.

Harry was in the hospital wing for the past couple hours being treated by Madam Pomfrey. He was still unconscious but healed and was not lying in the corner bed which he always said had a better cushioning charm.

Remus was sitting in a chair to Harry's right and was staring out the window. He was extremely distressed when he saw Harry fall from the sky. The wolf in him had already claimed Harry as his cub and a member of his pack. The man in him knew that he loved Harry like a son.

He was deep in thought of a memory of the first time he babysat Harry.

-Flashback-

_James and Lily were going on a shopping trip for more baby clothes and toys for Harry. He was growing up fast and they needed some larger baby clothes. They knew they could take Harry along but the first time they took him he looked to be unhappy; he never made a noise but then again, they had only heard him cry twice. Nobody knew why but he never wanted to hurt anyone's feelings and he never wanted to share when he was unset, even as an infant. _

_Remus was going to be watching baby Harry along with Sirius, who never gave up the chance to spend time with Harry even if it meant giving up a date which Remus believed was impossible. _

_Anyhow, James was holding the precious baby in his lap as they sat down on the couch. Harry was gurgling and smiling as he played with his dad's fingers. _

_Sirius was sitting next to him while Remus was across from them on the armchair. Lily was collecting everything that they would need. _

_Reluctantly, James handed Harry to Sirius who quickly held out his hands for Harry to take. _

_Harry gurgled a 'Pafot' in a cute baby voice before smiling and taking the offered hand and sticking it in his mouth to suck out. Sirius made a disgruntled face while James just laughed. _

"_Take good care of him you guys." James said. _

"_And don't start teaching him any pranks." Lily warned. _

_Sirius smiled innocently back at her and said "wherever would you get such ideas from." _

_She laughed and shook her head. "You guys have fun and owl us if you gave any problems." She said and quickly placed a kiss on Harry's forehead before moving to stand by her husband. _

"_Don't worry." Remus said. "From what I hear, this handsome baby is no trouble at all. You wouldn't know he was a Maurder's son at all." _

"_Anyhow, good luck!" Lily said as she exited the room with her hand linked with that of her husband's._

_Truth be told, Remus was nervous. It was speculated that babies could tell the presence of a werewolf and sense that there was danger. He did not want that to happen with Harry so he let Sirius play with him._

_After an hour, Sirius noticed that something was wrong and asked Remus if he was okay. _

"_Yes." He responded but when Sirius sent him a look telling him that he knew better he corrected himself. "not really. I read that baby's can feel the presence of a werewolf and not want to be in their presence because of the danger. I just don't want that to be Harry, he is already extremely special." He though back to the time with Dumbledore came over and smiled despite himself at the memory. _

"_Don't worry Remus. Here, I'll let you hold him." Sirius said and before Remus could protest, he had his lap full of a cute baby. _

_He looked down at the baby in his lap and smiled down at him. He was extremely cute with his bright emerald eyes and rosy cheeks. He even had a mess of black hair atop his head. _

_Remus reached up and gently rubbed circles with his thumb on Harry's rosy cheeks. Harry let out a laugh and grasped the thumb and pulled it into his mouth. _

_Remus let out a laugh and then signed in relieve that Harry could not sense he was a werewolf, that was a discussion that would be held at a later date. For now, he had a cute little baby in his lap. _

-End Flasback-

Remus let out a sign and looked over at Sirius who had moved his chair so that it was practically onto the hospital bed and had griped Harry's hand into his own and was whispering things that Remus could not hear to him.

* * *

Sirius was scared out of his mind watching Harry fall of his broom. He remembers running after Dumbledore down the halls to the infirmary. He remembers waiting to be able to see his godson. Once he was able to, he ran to his bed, oblivious to everything else, and moved a chair next to the bed and began stroking Harry's hand in his own.

He whispered to Harry. "I'm so glad your okay." Over and over again mixed in with the occasional "I love you" or "Please wake up."

Harry, for his part, heard Sirius's words and came back to his senses. He squeezed weakly on Sirius's hand, giving him a start.

"Harry!" Sirius screamed and collected his godson in a bone-crushing hug.

"Sirius. I'm fine. There is no need to worry. It's just Quidditch and it's not like a never been here before." Harry said while smiling cheekily.

"No need to worry." Sirius repeated quietly while shaking his head. "Sometimes I don't understand you at all."

"Hey!" Harry said indignantly.

All three of them burst out laughing after Harry pouted.

"We are all so glad you are okay. Hermione, Ginny, and the team came by earlier but Madam Pomfrey sent them out muttering about 'hating that reckless sport' and having to 'protect that sweet boy.' She is more protective of you then anyone I've seen come by here." Remus said gesturing around the infirmary.

"I'm doomed, aren't I?" Harry responded while hiding his face in his pillow once he lay back down.

"Afraid so pup." Sirius responded. "But it's all for the best because you need the rest anyway. You also need to eat more. I know that you gained a lot of muscle but you are still far too skinny for my liking."

"Sirius." Harry whined.

"Now Harry, Sirius is surprisingly right." Remus said, ignoring the protest from Sirius. "You need to get more rest so we'll come back later to pick you up."

Harry signed and lay back on his back and fell asleep. Sirius and Remus shared a look of amusement as Harry curled into a ball and nuzzled up against his pillow after having a rough day.

**Preview: **

**The news on the scouts are revealed**

**Harry trains harder **

**Someone is lovesick over Harry **

**A/N: **Please review and tell me anything you want to happen in the next chapter related to these topics or if you want to give me feelback on the story. I am not a professional writer and will appreciare any advice you decide to give me. Thank you!


	11. Critics

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.

**A/N: **Did any of you watch the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? I thought it was amazing. :) If you haven't seen it, I highly suggest that you get up off the computer and go right now. hahaha

Anyway, i want to thank everyone for your reviews they are highly appreciated and I love you all. *hugs and kisses*

I hope you all join my community or at least check it out. it's called Super Powered Harry Potter. it's for all you guys that like Harry having amazing powers. These are my favorite stories so I hope you enjoy them too. Thank you!

This is not a new chapter. I recently edited it to change the mistakes from the quidditch section. I forgot that the Holyhead Harpies were an all girls team so I changed it to the Puddlemere United. i am sorry for all the confusion. I am also changing his style for those that were offended. I did not mean to make he look gay. i was going more for the hot, band member but i'll tone it down.

**Chapter Eleven: Critics**

**Sunday October 7, 7:30 a.m. **

Harry had spent the night in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey said that he had to stop his morning training for a week in order to completely heal all of his bones. At first he protested but in the end he relented to the stubborn healer and decided that a week of resting and catching up with his friends could do him some good. Maybe he could even convince Seamus to play another muggle sport. He loved playing soccer that one time and figured that maybe he could play basketball like he did plenty of times that summer. He was lost in his mussing and did not hear the sound of someone walking into the infirmary.

He did notice, however, when said person launched themselves at him. Hermione had woken up early on Sunday to make sure that Harry was alright.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled when he saw the person that had snuck up on him.

"Oh Harry. I was just so worried when I saw you falling. I did not even have time to think before Professor Dumbledore caught you and put you on a stretcher. Everything just went by so fast and-" Harry cut off her rambling by placing his hand over her mouth. She mock glared at him while he smiled sweetly back at her.

"Hermione, I am fine. There is no need to worry like that." Harry said while removing his hand from over her mouth.

She signed in resignation but decided to relay to him the news she heard reguarding Flint, the Slytherin who had inflicted the harm on him.

"Have you heard what happened to Flint, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"No. What?" Harry asked with narrow eyes.

"Well since he was too young to be sent to Azkaban, you know that you have to be a legal adult before you can be sent there. Except for in 1054 when Archibald Black was sentenced with the murder of his cousin-" Hermione rambled but stopped when Harry gave her an amused look. She huffed before continuing. "Anyhow, he could not be sent to Azkaban so he got a month suspension and a year of community service down at St. Mungo's. He also got a hundred points taken from Slytherin. If you ask me, he got of fairly easy considered it was practically attempted murder."

Harry sighed and fiddled with his family ring, a habit had he began to pick up.

"I guess that is the worst that they can give him. He is still in school after all." Harry said.

"Anyhow, I just came in to check on you. Ron and Ginny are beside themselves with worry. Ron barely even touched his dinner last night and that is saying something." Hermione said.

Harry said, "I think I want a day just to spend with you guys if you aren't busy. We haven't had one of those days in a while."

Hermione smiled and said that it would be perfect. They both left the room and headed down to breakfast in the Great Hall.

When they reached the Great Hall, they say Neville and Ginny sitting next to each other, Ron and Ginny seating across from them and Seamus and Dean next to them. When Hermione and Harry entered the room they looked up and smiled at him. He made his way across the room and sat down next to Ron. Hermione sat down next to him and the conversation turned to make sure that Harry was alright.

After a couple of minutes of reassurance from Harry that he was alright, they resumed their previous conversation: The dueling competition which was taking place the first Saturday of November.

It had been announced at the beginning of the school year that they were hosting one but with the carnival and Harry's busy schedule, he completely forgot.

"I think I want to enter." Ron said. "The winner gets a hundred galleons and a chance to compete in the world-wide dueling competition."

"Me too" responded Ginny who was sitting awfully close to Neville. "I might be in my fourth year but I think I'm pretty talented." She continued after people looked at her strangely.

"Good for you Ginny." Neville responded. "I, myself, much rather prefer Herbology. I wouldn't last a minute in a duel against you."

"I was planning on entering as well." Harry said.

Heads turned to look at him and a lot of people looked dejected like they knew that since he was entering, they would lose. Some of the people, girls especially, looked at him amazed like he was about to perform some sort of show.

"Good for you Harry." Hermione responded. "By the way, have you gotten a chance to learn any of the languages I sent to you?"

"je parle le français et l'Espagnol maintenant." Harry responded in French.

"quand?" Hermione responded.

"après mon anniversaire." Harry responded.

"English please." Ron said.

"Sorry." Harry responded. "Hermione asked me if I learned any of the languages that he gave to me and I told her that I learned French and Spanish after my birthday. I actually had a lot of time after my birthday to study because I already finished my Animagus transformation and I learned everything about goblin magic."

"Oh. I actual had a chance to learn some French from Charlie. I learned it when he traveled to France in a dragon preserve. I'm not fluent or anything but I know the essentials." Ron said.

"Good for you Ron, I had no idea." Hermione said to him, causing him to blush.

"I was actually thinking of learning Bulgarian this week cause I can no longer do my exercise program." Harry said.

"I could help you if you like, Victor taught me this summer." Hermione said.

"Sounds great." Harry responded.

**

* * *

**

Monday, October 8, 6:00 a.m.

Harry was reading the book on the Bulgarian language waiting for Ron to wake it. It took a complete hour before the rest of his dorm began to rise and by then, Harry was over half-way done with his book. Harry found out this summer that learning a language as a wizard was super easy. Once you read the book, there is an enchantment placed on it that allows you to know the language and be able to speak it properly. Harry had no idea why all people didn't read these books but he figured that it was not widely known or people did not care.

He decided to start getting ready while his roommates where just waking up. He took a shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He dressed in his uniform and packed up his books for the day. Today he would have potions, CoMC, Herbology, Ancient Runes and Dueling.

**

* * *

**

Wednesday, October 10, 6:00 p.m.

Harry just finished his book on Bulgarian when Hermione and Ron walked into the common room. They plotted down on the couch which Harry was on and continued talking.

"I am completely excited. I don't understand how you cannot be." Hermione said.

"I am excited. I just don't know what I want to do when I get older." Ron responded.

"What is this about?" Harry asked, joining the conversation.

"We just found out that the representatives from different jobs are coming and we get a meeting with our heads of house to discuss our career options. This is the year that they begin thinking of people to recruit and watch for in hiring. It's a big deal." She said and finished the last part by glaring at Ron.

Ron held his hands up in mock surrender. "Gesh Hermione, I realize this is important I just don't know what I want to do."

"Speaking of careers, I got a letter this morning saying that the scouts are going to come back and give their feedback on our players this weekend." Harry said.

"And you're just telling me this now!" Ron said.

"Well I just got the letter this morning and calm down, I'm sure you got great reviews." Harry said.

"You're right. I just need to calm down." Ron said while taking some calming breaths.

"Hermione, when did you say the meetings were going to be?" Harry asked.

"This Friday." She responded.

* * *

**Friday, October 12, 4:00 p.m.**

Harry was headed toward his meeting for career options. He was still considered a fifth year because he was taking fifth year astronomy and ancient runes. He just reached the door to Professor McGonagall office and took a minute to check his appearance. He finished Herbology at 3:15 so he had time to change and rest before the meeting.

He was wearing his pair of combat boots which were a black dragon skin. He had on a pair of dark jeans that he just ordered from Madam Malkin's. He had on a pale yellow button up shirt that brought out his tan that he managed to keep since the summer. Over his shirt he had on a newly made Basilisk-skin vest. His hair was as-always in a sexy, windblown look and his bangs had a nice large curve his showcased his famous scar. His bright emerald eyes showed his nervousness and determination to make a good impression. He looked down at his hands to look at his family ring before reached for the door handle and opening the door.

Professor McGonagall was there along with four representatives in her temporarily expanded office.

She greeted him warmly and introduced him to the representatives that came from the ministry.

"First, let me introduce you to Pius Thicknesse representing the Magical Law Enforcement." She introduced him to the man with long, mostly black but with some white hair. He had a beard and gave him a friendly smile which Harry returned.

"Second, let me introduce you to Dirk Cresswell, head of the Goblin Liaison Office." She said.

"It's a pleasure to see you again Harry." Cresswell said.

"And you sir." Harry responded before being introduced to another representative.

"Third, let me introduce you to Amos Diggory." Harry's eyes widened when he took in the familiar man. "He is now the head of the control of magic creatures." She said.

Harry's eyes watered a little when he looked at the father of Cedric, whom he had seen died half a year ago.

Amos ignored the watery eyes and smiled down at the youth before shaking his hand. When Harry looked down Amos whispered to him that he did not blame Harry for what happened to his son and thanked him for returning him to his family.

Harry looked up and smiled at him before accepted his thanks and moving onto the next man.

"Fourth, let me introduce you to Winston Thather, the head of the auror department." She said.

"Nice to see you again Harry." Thather said while shaking his hand.

"Likewise." Harry responded.

They all sat down. Professor McGonagall sat behind her desk with the four representatives at her sides. Harry sat in the chair in front of her desk.

"I am going to ask you a series of qualifying questions to see what you can improve and continue to do for these occupations. Keep in mind that these are only four department at the ministry and there are more to chose from. The list of which I will give you before leaving."

Harry inclined his head in understanding.

"Name?" Professor McGonagall said.

"Harry James Potter." He said while she wrote it down on the qualification paper.

"Age?"

"Fifteen."

"Guardian?"

"Sirius Black."

"Language?"

"English, French, Bulgarian, Spanish, Goblinese, and Parseltongue."

"Height?"

"5 foot, 8.5 inches."

"Weight?"

"145 pounds."

"Courses currently taking?"

"DADA assistant, Ancient Runes, Charms, Potions, CoMC, Transfiguration, Herbology, Astronomy, Arithmancy, and Dueling."

"Titles?"

"Quidditch captain, prefect, um… Boy-who-lived and uh Defender of Diagon Alley." He finished with a smile and a laugh causing those around him to laugh too to relive the awe-filled tension. Even Professor McGonagall smiled at that one.

"Animagus?"

"Black owl, red griffin patriarch, unicorn, panther and cobra."

"Awards?"

"Well the Order of Merlin but besides that no. I don't think so." He replied.

"Really because I happen to recall a certain award for services to the school." She said.

Harry ducked his head as he blushed. "Oh that" he mumbled.

Professor McGonagall smiled at him while writing it down.

Pius Thicknesse asked, "what was the service to the school?"

"Um… saving it I guess." Harry said. This earned a couple of chuckles and a bemused look from the professor.

"Anyway, musical instruments?"

"No."

"Abilities?"

"Parseltongue, metamorphic abilities which I still need to work on, natural master of wandless magic, natural master of potions, goblinese, natural charms master, and natural transfiguration master. But, I haven't checked since I received magical maturity." He said, not really understanding the awed looks that he recieved.

"Accomplishments?"

"Surviving the killing curse, killing a basilisk, producing the patronus charm, and fighting Voldemort." He replied while scratching the back of his head in thought. He ignored the intake or breath that this caused.

"Classes you excel in?"

"DADA and Charms."

"Those two classes only? There is no need to be humble. He actually took his O.W.L.'s early in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Arithmancy." She smiled fondly down at her young lion.

"Really and what were your grades?" Amos Diggory asked.

"I received the highest owls in a century and the highest ever for DADA. It was, if I recall correctly an O+ in DADA, an O in Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, and Arithmancy and an EE in CoMC, and Herbology. I still have the Astronomy and Ancient Runes O.W.L.'s to take since I dropped History of Magic and Divination."

"Amazing." Diggory said.

"Is there anything extra you want to know about young Harry here?" she said. She was extremely proud of her lion. She knew that he could go to any of the ministry jobs that he wanted to. He was more than qualified for even the position as Minister of Magic she thought to herself.

"None" she said when no one made a move to ask. "I would just like to say that besides everything he said before, he is an excellent flier. I am proud to say that I was on the one to discover his talent and place him on the Gryffindor team. He might be a Gryffindor but I noticed that he has the best qualities of the entire houses: He is brave because he has fought he-who-must-not-be-named multiply times. He is cunning because he finds ways to sneak around the rules and get out of danger. He is loyal to his friends and his family. He is smart because he is the top of the grade currently as one of the only one taking seventh year classes and yearns to learn more, as evident in his multiple languages."

She finished her speech and they each shook his hand before he left.

When he exited he felt completely exhausted and went outside to lie under a tree. He found Luna there and she began talking to him about nargles. He listened to her and fell into an amazing sleep.

**

* * *

**

Saturday October 13, 10:15 a.m.

It was meant to be Quidditch practice time but instead of practicing the scouts were going to come and review their game and look for recruits.

There were representatives from England, the Canons, Bulgaria, and the Puddlemere United.

The team, Katie Bell, Angelia Johnson, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Ron Weasley, Seamus Finnigan, and Harry, were waiting on the Quidditch pitch for the representatives.

Harry was dressed in a pair of corduroy pants, a white t-shirt and a gray sweater. The others were dressed similarly in jeans and sweaters or jackets.

The English team representative was named Jonathan Spike. He had short blonde hair that was tossled. He looked to be around twenty-five and had an athletic build. "Hello everybody my name is Jonathan Spike. I am the representative and chaser for the English team."

The next man came up. He had brown hair and blue eyes. His hair was down to his shoulders and was tied in a loose ponytail. He was fairly small and was in his early twenties. "Hello. My name is Tyler Bakerson. I am the seeker for the Cudley Canons."

A woman came up next. She had an athletic build and looked about eighteen. She had soft dirty blonde hair that was lightly curled and held up in a half ponytail. "Hi. My name is Sarah Thorten. I am a chaser for the Bulgarian team."

The next person they all recognized. "Hey you guys. I don't think I need to introduce myself to you but I'm Oliver Wood and I'm the keeper for the Puddlemere United Team. I think we can start by saying that you all played amazingly. We would like to ask Angelia Johnson and Katie Bell as well Fred and George Weasley to come up. You four are all the seventh years on the team. We would be blessed if you would attend any of our team's tryouts next spring."

They all smiled at each other and gave a great smile to Harry for being their captain and helped them this year.

"We would like to give you contact information" Said Jonathan Spike from the English team. "If decide to join the team then contact us beforehand and the date of the try-outs will be given."

"And for those not in seventh years, we will continue to watch you these next years for potential team members, especially Ron Weasley. Now, could we see the captain for a moment please" Tyler Bakerson said.

Harry followed the representatives to the other side of the pitch while the rest of the team dispersed because the meeting was over. Ron was smiling at being singled out for his good work. Once they got to the other side of the pitch, they came around so they were standing in a circle.

"First of I want to say congratulations for putting together an amazing team. Second, I want to offer you a secondary position on the team" Said Jonathan Spike from the English team. "We currently have a seeker and it's not traditional to be on a national Quidditch team while still in school but I just couldn't pass the opportunity up."

They discussed quidditch for a little while including if he had any new moves or plays. After about twenty minutes the meeting ended.

Harry shook hands with all the representatives and collected their business cards before thanking them and exiting the field.

His mind was buzzing with all the information that was presented to him these past couple of days. The future was being planned right before his eyes but all he could truly think about was his job of defeating Voldemort.

He walked down to the lake and laid his head against a tree while taking a book out of his bag.

He opened up his transfiguration book and lost himself in reading-forgetting about the goal that he inevitably had to complete by living in the moment.

* * *

Meanwhile, Pamela Clareborine was busying staring at her crush through the windows of Hogwarts. Pamela met Harry in his first potions class of the year. She thought he was the most handsome man that she had ever met. He had raven-colored hair that was sexy, windblown and had a look of just-been-shagged. His skin was flawless and was perfectly tan making it sparkle in the light. His eyes were like pools of emeralds that sparkled when he laughed. You could always look into his eyes and feel like you were looking into his very soul. Even his nose was cute like a little button. His lips were light pink and plump and when he smiled they looked perfect against his white teeth. And that was just his face! His body was amazing, like that of a greek god. He had a well-defined six pack that she doubted anyone else at Hogwarts achieved. He had broad shoulders and muscled, but not too muscled arms. His legs were toned and held up his perfectly round butt. Even his clothes this year changed- they showed off his body and make him look rebellious. His tattoos did nothing to persuade her from that fact. And they weren't just regular tattoos she figured out. They meant something to him which made them rare tattoos.

Oh and his personality! She loved the way he had no idea how perfect he was. He was modest and kind and humble. He was funny and got along well with children. He was also a hero. He fought for the good of the people without thinking about himself.

She knew that she without a doubt had a crush on him. She also knew that she was going to do everything in her power to make him hers.

With that final thought, she flicked her brown, shoulder-length hair over her shoulder and continued to stare at the boy that was going to be hers.

**

* * *

**

Sunday, October 14, 5:00 a.m.

Today was the day that Harry could begin his training over again. He realized that he missed his training over the past week. It was a nice way to begin the day and it made him more confident for the battle that was yet to come.

He got out of bed, brushed his teeth and changed into a pair of white swim trunks, a pair of sweatpants overtop, a white tank top, a sweatshirt over top, and a pair of sneakers.

He walked down to the lake where he began to train again.

**

* * *

**

Preview:

**Pamela does some major flirting **

**Harry rechecks his powers **

**Tonks makes an appearance **

**A/N: **I hope you liked it! Be sure to review with any suggestions or ideas thay you want in the story because I would love to hear them. i will read all the reviews and take your opinion into account when I write this story. for example, do you like flashbacks of Harry as a baby? should Pamela win harry's heart? how much more power should Harry gain? what will happen to Draco? These are all events that I want to bring in so if you have an opinion please write it! Thank you! :)


	12. Pamela Pursues Further

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter characters.

**A/N: **I am sorry for the mix up with the chapters. I am still learning how to work FanFiction and for a while I realized that I did not have the First Quidditch Game chapter up so I am sorry for anyone that is just starting to read.

I also realize that it has been a while since I updated and I could go on about exams and Christmas but I'll just say sorry and try to update more often. :)

**Chapter Twelve: Pamela Pursues Further **

**Sunday October 14, 8:00 a.m. **

"Hey Harry! Wait up!" Neville called as Harry was exiting the common room, getting ready to eat some breakfast. Harry was extremely sore; he had just trained himself to the limit this morning and was walking rather stiffly.

He stopped when he heard the sound of Neville's voice and waited for him to catch up.

"Hey Neville" Harry said when his friend was by his side.

"Hey Harry. I wanted to talk to you earlier but you were always so busy. Anyway, I need your advice." Neville said. They had just begun walking down to the Great Hall.

"Yeah? Need help in DADA or something?" Harry asked.

"No. Nothing like that. I need some advice on girls." Neville said.

Harry sputtered and turned to star at his friend. "And you came to me?" Harry asked shocked.

"Of course. Don't you see all the girls hanging around you. Besides, the girl that I like is practically like a sister to you." Neville responded.

"Neville, girls hang around me because I'm the boy-who-lived, nothing has changed. They don't really like me. They like the fame" Harry said.

"Hate to break it to you Harry but they hang around you cause you're attractive." Neville said rather timidly.

"Attractive? Me?" Harry asked shaking his head like it was some sort of joke. "Whatever you say. Anyway, who was this girl that you were interested in?" Harry changed the subject.

"Well…you see… it's kinda…" he whispered the rest so Harry couldn't hear.

"Sorry Neville, I didn't hear that last part." Harry said with a smile.

"It's Ginny." He said in a whisper that Harry could barely make out.

Harry smiled down at Neville and responded, "You like Ginny?"

"Of course, I mean… she's pretty and she's nice and when I took her to the dance last year she was funny and didn't even make fun of me when I stepped on her toes. And she's got the most amazing hair." Neville finished with a sort of dreamy smile on his face.

"And why do you need my help? The next Hogsmeade trip is in November before the holidays, why don't you ask her out then?" Harry responded.

Neville looked at him like he was crazy. "Just ask her out? I'm can't do that!"

"And why not?" Harry responded.

"I don't have bravery like you. I can't just walk up to someone and ask them out." Neville responded.

"Neville, I'm sure you were placed in Gryffindor for a reason. You are brave. Oh and in case you forgot, I was totally scared when I asked Cho to go to the dance with me." Harry responded.

"God. If you were scared there is no hope for the rest of us!" Neville said.

Harry playfully shoved him before continuing, not noticing the way that Neville rubbed his shoulder where Harry pushed him. "How about I make you a deal? I will ask a girl to go to Hogsmeade with me if you ask Ginny to go to Hogsmeade with you?" Harry asked.

"I guess that would be fair." Neville said. "And I really like Ginny." He seemed to think it over for a second before extending his hand and saying "deal."

Harry took his hand and shook it before they continued to walk to the Great Hall.

"So, who are you going to ask?" Neville asked suddenly.

"I was thinking of asking Pamela or maybe her friend named Josie that I met. I'm not sure." Harry responded just as they reached the Great Hall.

They entered and sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Justin, Caroline, and Makinze, three first years that Harry had met before.

"Hello Justin. Caroline. Makinze." Harry said with a nod to each person respectively.

"Hello Harry." They responded. Harry was actually quite close to the younger years. Through his time as prefect, he had a chance to get to know a lot of the younger years from all houses and they kept him very busy with questions and study times. Yesterday, after he came back from reading, he went to the biweekly meetings that Harry and Hermione set up for the first years. Yesterday they opted to have storytelling and Harry and Hermione told them a story of a dragon named Norbert and how they helped him leave the castle.

Harry was so lost in thought that he did not see a black dog tackle him from the back, causing him to land head first into his half-eaten waffles with whipped cream. He quickly shot around only to come face to face with a grim-like dog with a goofy smile on his face.

"Sirius" Harry hissed. Sirius wondered how anyone could have missed that he was a Parselmouth when he talked like that.

Harry whipped the whipped cream from face, missing a piece that was on his nose and glared at his godfather who turned into his smiling human form.

"Missed you, pup." Sirius said while whipping the whipped cream from his face.

"Gah. I can't believe you did that." Harry said but a smile was breaking through his lips.

"Well somebody had to prank. There doesn't seem to be much of that going on around here. Hum, I wonder if a certain Maurder named Aeroterra is starting to forget about his job?" Sirius said.

"Well maybe this Aeroterra has been busy but I have a feeling that he or she will be pranking very soon." Harry responded.

"That's what I want to hear!" Sirius responded. "I actually have some business that I have at the Ministry so I wouldn't be around this evening like normal. I just wanted to tell you." Sirius said.

"What are you doing at the Ministry?" Harry asked.

"Don't worry your little head about it?" Sirius said in a baby voice while ruffling his hair.

"Sirius!" Harry whined pitifully while trying to tame down his hair.

Sirius just smiled and raised his hand and ran it through his godson's hair to set it back into place. Harry smiled up at him even though he was a little old to be treated like this.

"Okay. Good luck with whatever you have at the Ministry." Harry said dejectedly.

Sirius reached over and hugged Harry. Harry returned the hug eagerly for he was no one to turn away affection even if the Great Hall was beginning to fill with occupants.

"See ya soon pup!" Sirius called out as he was exiting the room.

"Bye Siri!" Harry called back before returning to the table and picking out a whole new breakfast to eat.

**

* * *

**

Wednesday, October 17 8:45 a.m.

Harry sat himself down in the middle of the transfiguration room when the bell rang. This was one of his classes that were with all the houses and he got a chance to know all the older students. The older students soon learned that Harry was not simply there because he was famous; he was extremely smart and had seemingly infinite amounts of power.

Now he was sitting next to Pamela, who Harry was beginning to think of as a really close friend. He got his quill and parchment out and was ready for his lesson and discovered that Professor McGonagall was going to be teaching about Animagi.

"An Animagus is a person who is able to turn into an animal at will. The animal they are able to become is the animal that embodies their characteristics. Not everybody has enough power to turn into an Animagus and some of the ones that do never learn to master it." Professor McGonagall began lecturing.

"In order to find out if you can become an Animagus, the person has to drink a potion which will show you from the animal's perspective what animal you are. When you have guessed correctly, the perspective will end."

"There have been hundreds of Animagi in history and there are about thirty alive today including myself. There have only been two people in the history of magic who have completed more than one form. The first of who was Merlin who had three: a lion, an owl, and a phoenix. The fact that he achieved a magical creature is rare. Not many people have achieved such a thing. In fact, there have only been six people to do so."

"Once a person achieves their form they have qualities that are enhanced when they are in their human form. For instance, once I mastered my cat Animagus I developed a great sense of hearing. Other people have been known to be able to speak to the animal that they were while in human form which is pretty common or enhance some of their other abilities."

While Professor McGonagall was lecturing, Harry was partial paying attention but mostly trying to ignore when people turned to stare at him. They had seen him when he was in griffin form the first day of the school year. Some of them had even seen him as an owl when he thought nobody was looking.

So, Harry was surprised when Professor McGonagall asked him to come to the front of the classroom.

"Everyone knows that Harry is an Animagus." She said to the class. "I want you to explain your experience to the class so they know it is possible for a younger student like themselves." She said to him.

"Well, I started my Animagus training in June of this year. Once I took the potion, I saw a vision in the form of my griffin. It was like I was the griffin running and flying, it actually helped me feel more natural when I was flying. I then got my other forms and began reading up on them to make sure I knew the anatomy. Once I was positive I knew about my animals, I began changing limbs at a time before changing into my complete form. You just sort of feel your magic and will your body to become the certain form. It's kind of similar to wandless magic in a way. It took roughly two months to accomplish but it is very feasible."

The class listened attentively when he described his experience. When he was done, the professor asked if they had any questions for him.

"Do you mean to say that you are the second person to have more than one Animagus form?" asked a boy from Ravenclaw.

"Yes." Harry responded hoping that he would not have to say what his other forms were.

But, with his luck, the next question from a Hufflepuff was "What are your forms?"

He responded, "Griffin, owl, panther, unicorn, and cobra."

The class looked at him funny before someone called out "Show us!"

"Well I guess you've seen my griffin form and it's kinda too big to transform in here. But I'll do the others" he said.

Harry changed into an owl and flew over the top of the classroom then did a steep dive before transforming into a panther before touching the ground. As a panther he walked around the room against the wall, then changed into a unicorn and walked down the center row. Once he got to the front of the classroom again he changed into a cobra. The front row leaned back away from him and when Harry transformed back he was laughing.

"Why does (laugh) everyone (laugh) do that when (laugh) I transform (laugh) into a cobra?" Harry managed to get out between fits of laughter.

Harry answered a few more questions before sliding back into his seat next to Pamela. She pat his leg when he sat down and gave him a smile which he easily returned.

* * *

Pamela was fuming after class, pacing in her dorm room, thinking about her efforts to win Harry over. She had done everything that she could think of to get his attention. She had sat extremely close to him, constantly touched him and even rubbed his leg when he sat down. Nothing was getting her anywhere. She desperately wanted to win Harry over. He was handsome and he was a hero. Those two thinks made him the perfect man for her and this was going to be the last year to win him over since it was her last year at school.

She then sat in front of the mirror planning a way to make him fall madly in love with her so that she could one day be the wife of the Boy-Who-Lived, the most eligible bachelor, the powerful hero, Harry Potter.

* * *

Harry, on the other hand, was having a great day. It was one of his first days back to Quidditch practice since the accident and he did not notice any differences in his playing. He glided through the air, enjoying the sensation of nothing beneath his feet and the breeze rusting his hair. Even after practice ended, he liked to glide over the lake and soak up the feeling of the nature.

He flew down and landed in the forbidden forest in order to visit Norman, Bellona's son. He traveled to Hogwarts after the attack on Privet Drive and liked to stay in the woods instead of being stuck in the castle.

"_Hello young snake speaker." _Norman greeted Harry. This was his way of greeting since he preferred to honor Harry as best he could for returning him to his mother.

"_Hello Norman. Is there any news from the forest?" _Harry asked.

"_Nothing to concern yourself with. The beasts have been relatively calm once they accepted you into their land." _Norman replied.

"_Good. How has everything been treating you?" _Harry asked.

"_Rather delightfully. Thank you. But, young speaker, you must return to the castle before it gets too dark." _Norman said.

"_But of course, you are right. I hope to see you soon, Norman!" _Harry said while mounting his Firebolt.

"_Likewise, young snake speaker." _Norman said while sliding off to his home.

**

* * *

**

Saturday, October 20, 1:30 p.m.

Harry was spending the day with his friends and was surprised to see Pamela walking up to them. They were seated outside having a picnic, one of their favorite past times. Harry especially loved to be outdoors.

Pamela walked toward them wearing a short, tight-fitted denim skirt and a v-neck sweater that left little to the imagination. She walked straight to them and Harry called over for her to sit down. She gratefully sat down extremely close to Harry, which went unnoticed by Harry but not by Hermione who looked at the seventh year with suspicion.

"Hello Harry" Pamela said while placing her hand on his thigh.

"Hello Pamela, what are you doing outside?" he asked her.

"I was just going for a stroll when I saw you guys and decided to drop by. I haven't actually had the pleasure of meeting your friends." She said.

"Well, this is Ronald Weasley but he goes by Ron. We have been best mates since the first train ride so he's practically my brother" He said indicating to the tall, red head to the left. Ron was practically drooling at the attractive brunette that was seating with them. He extended his hand and they shook. "This is Hermione Granger who is practically my sister." He said indicating to the curly haired girl in front of him. The two girls shook hands and smiled. "Lastly, this is Neville Longbottom. We haven't been friends nearly as long but he is still really close to us." He said indicating to the nervous boy sitting to the right of him. Neville raised his hand and they shook. "Everyone, this is Pamela Clareborine, she's a seventh year Gryffindor and a really great friend of mine."

After the introductions were made, they went on with their picnic.

"Harry, how have all of your classes been?" Hermione asked.

"They been fine I guess. It's different being away from you guys but this way I get to see some of the older students. I think I'm actually doing well in the classes too. Since this summer I've really been more organized and studious than ever." Harry replied before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Yeah, I've noticed that you've been going to the library more so this year. I just hope that you're not working yourself too much." Neville said.

"Seriously mate, you are almost as bad a Hermione was in third year." Ron said with a snicker which was cut short when Hermione gave him a not-so-gentle slap on his knee.

"Ouch! Hermione, save the slapping for the ferret!" Ron said to her.

"What ever happened to Malfoy anyway?" Harry asked. "I haven't seen him around since the beginning of the school year."

"He's still around, the idiot." Ron said "He's actually been quite sneaky. I've seen him more than once just lurking about the school. Don't know what his problem."

"Well at least he's not bothering us." Hermione said.

"Is there something wrong with him?" Pamela asked.

"Well he's just been Harry's number one enemy from first year onward." Ron said.

"Not really. Voldemort has been my number one enemy since first year. He has been more of a nuisance." Harry said.

"Well, off to a different subject, did you see the aurors that walk around the school now?" Neville asked.

"No, I haven't. I should ask Dumbledore about them." Harry replied and stored that information for later.

They continued their conversations and once they finished they went up to their dorms to find Seamus and see if he could play some basketball, per Harry's request.

He agreed and they spent an enjoyable evening playing basketball on their temporarily-made court.

**

* * *

**

Sunday October 21, 2:15 p.m.

Harry just finished lunch and was walking up to the headmaster's office to ask him about the aurors patrolling the school. He got up statue and realized that he didn't have the password.

"Lemon drops" he said but the gargoyle didn't move.

"Licorice wands"

"Cauldron Cakes"

"Chocolate Frogs"

Nothing he tried worked. Then, a voice behind him said "I believe the password is 'Pumpkin Pastries.'"

Harry turned around only to come face to face with the man with whom he wished to talk. Harry smiled sheepishly and headmaster gestured for him to come inside the newly-opened office. Harry did so and sat down in the plush chair that he was offered. Dumbledore sat behind his desk and asked "To what do I owe this pleasure, Harry?"

"I just wanted to ask why the aurors are patrolling the school. Is there a new danger that I don't know about? Is there anything that I can do to help?" Harry asked.

"No, my dear boy." He said fondly to the child he loved in front of him. "They are patrolling by orders of the Minister. I had no control of it."

"The Minister? What does he think is a danger?" Harry asked confused.

"There is nothing new. He finally realized that there is war and that the school needed to be protected, bar my reasoning to him that the school was safe. They should only be here for a few weeks until the Minister realizes that he is wasting his time here." Dumbledore said.

"You don't believe there is any danger here?" Harry asked.

"I believe that the school is safe and there is no use having the aurors here to patrol the hallways." He replied.

"Oh." Harry said dumbly.

"If that is all, would you mind staying to keep an old man company over tea?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry smiled in return and graciously accepted the tea offered to him. They talked about the war, life, and his new training that he was going to have with Tonks while she was here on his metamorphic abilities.

**

* * *

**

Wednesday October 24, 6:00 p.m.

Harry was doing his homework in the library as per usual. By the time he finished his transfiguration and charms it was seven thirty. He decided to save his Ancient Runes homework for tomorrow and opted to instead test his powers again. He got out his copy of _What Powers Lie Beneath _and preformed the spell to himself and a piece of parchment that he just got out.

He looked down at the sheet and realized that not much had changed. His spells were obviously tremendously stronger but he did not gain any new abilities since his birthday. Somewhat disappointed, he headed back to the Gryffindor common room to spend time with his friends.

**Sneak Peak: **

**Halloween Memories **

**Bonding Moments **

**A/N: **Thank you all for being patient with me and my slow updates. I'll try to do better but I can't promise anything. Thank you for reading this far and reviews are highly encouraged. Thank you!


	13. Halloween Distress

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter characters.

**Chapter Thirteen: Halloween Distress **

**Wednesday, October 31, 8:00 a.m. **

"Do you know where Harry is?" Ron asked Hermione as they entered the Great Hall and realized that their best friend was not in there like he normally was after he worked out or had Quidditch practice.

"Maybe he's just running a bit late" Hermione said even though she herself did not believe that. Something always happened on Halloween that was horrible for him and she did not think this year was going to be any different.

"Sure" Ron said but his voice was laced with sarcasm.

They made their way to the middle of the Gryffindor table where they typically ate their meals. They sat down across from Neville and Seamus who greeted them when they sat down. Ron immediately filled his plate with French toast drenched in syrup. Hermione looked at his plate in disgust and neatly filled her plate with two chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream.

"Did you hear when the next Quidditch game was?" Neville asked when they had all gotten their breakfast.

"I think there is a Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin game on Friday but I'll have to ask Harry next time I see him. The next Gryffindor game should be in a couple of weeks." Seamus answered.

"The Slytherin team is doing worse than previous years. After the first game we played against them they have lost their ego and are constantly fouling. I remember their game against Hufflepuff. Those poor 'Puffs didn't know what hit them." Ron said.

"I know what you mean. Madam Pomfrey sure had her hands full after that game." Neville said.

They ate the rest of their meal talking about Quidditch tactics and classes and during the entire conversation, Hermione was wondering where Harry was; She was growing concerned for her best friend.

"You guys, I think I'm going to go see where Harry is." Hermione said ten minutes before breakfast ended.

"Okay 'Mione, see you in Charms." Ron said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Harry finished his workout at 7:30 and snuck into the common room, trying to avoid his friends; He did not want them to worry about him but he had an accident when he was working out and he didn't want them to see it before he had it healed.

He was doing a tumble and he accidently tripped and ended up getting a black eye. It is safe to say that he hated Halloween.

He took a quick shower and dressed in a pair of jeans and a royal blue polo shirt and emerald jumper over it. He quickly tied up his combat boots before trying to go to Madam Pomfrey. He had done this a couple of times and while she gave him the potion, she always fussed over him about being more careful.

He got to the door of the common room when Hermione opened up and saw him. She smiled at him upon first seeing him and then the smile faded from her face when she saw the black eye.

"What did you do? Did you get into a fight?" Hermione asked.

"I just got into a bit of an accident while I was training. I was just about to go down to Madam Pomfrey." He said while trying to sidestep her.

His efforts were futile because she ended up following him down the halls and into the hospital wing.

"Oh dear. Not again. How many more times do I have to tell you to be careful when you're training?" Madam Pomfrey said when she saw his black eye.

Hermione gave him a searching look for she did not know that he ever got hurt before from training. Harry did not see the look and instead replied "One more?" he said with a charming smile.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head while smiling and getting to potion from her cabinets. She handed it to him and he quickly swallowed and got a disgusted look on his face.

Hermione and Harry thanked her before leaving the hospital wing.

"You get into accidents when you train?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked sideways at her when they were walking and said "Of course I do but it's worth it when you get the end results. I have fewer injuries now then I had in the beginning of my training but this was just an unlucky time. I was distracted with my thoughts." He told her. He was thinking about Halloween when he was training. It was this time every year that he felt the worst. It was the day where he always remembered his parents and what he missed out in his life. It wasn't like he missed his parents because he really did not know them; the only thing that he remembered personally of his mother was her scream. He missed the idea of having a family. He missed the idea of having a mother of his own to dolt over him and a father to teach him how to fly a broom and to give advice on girls.

He turned to Hermione and said "There's no need to worry if you are. I'm perfectly safe."

Hermione looked at him as if he had lost his mind and said "I worry about you all the time."

"You do?" he asked her and he stopped walking. Hermione stopped when he noticed his standstill.

"Of course I do. You're my best friend, practically a brother. I love you and I hate to see you hurt. I don't like the idea of you having to fight in a war and giving up your childhood. I know that you were never really a child when you grew up but everyone seems to think that you're an adult. You're not. Your fifteen years old and you deserve to relax and live." Hermione said to him. She then gave him a hug which was eagerly returned.

* * *

Harry spent the rest of his day in classes and Quidditch practice. By the time that 5:30 rolled around, he did not want to spend his time at the Halloween celebration. He never wanted to celebrate on the night that his parents died and he became an orphan. So, he told Hermione that he was going to go outside instead.

"I understand Harry. Do you want some company? Do you want me to go with you?" Hermione asked.

"No. I think I want to spend some time alone." Harry replied.

"Okay. You know where to find me if you ever need me." Hermione said before walking off with Ron and Ginny to the Great Hall.

Harry wondered the halls for a little while, looking at the different portraits and statues. He then got bored and went outside where he always felt comforted. He wondered down to his spot at the lake and sat down on the ground with his hands supporting him. He looked at the water rippling against the shore and the breeze making wrinkles in the waves.

He was lost in thought and did not hear Remus come up behind him until he saw a shadow blocking the sun.

He looked up and smiled as Remus offered him a hand. He accepted and let the older man pull him up.

"Sirius and I never celebrate anymore on this day. We spend it going over memories. Would you like to join us?" Remus said to his charge in front of him.

Harry nodded and let Remus lead him though the castle to his and Sirius's rooms.

Sirius was already in the living room and was comfortable in the sofa looking over an album that Harry had never seen before. It was leather bound and it was fairly thick.

When Sirius noticed their presence, he pat the space next to him for Harry to sit. Harry sat down next to him while Remus sat across from them in a rocking chair by the fireplace.

"I remember that day." Sirius said while pointing to a picture of Harry's parents smiling. They looked about seventeen and they were waving and smiling in the photo. "Did you ever hear the story of when your father proposed to your mother?" Sirius asked.

Harry shook his head no so Sirius went on to describe the comical event.

"It was in our seventh year and your mom and dad had been going out for quite a while. James wanted Lily to marry him so got the Marauders together to come up with a plan."

"Oh no" Harry said while smiling.

"Oh yes." Sirius said. "We, being the pranksters that we are, decided that James was going to propose in front of the entire school after an elaborate prank. It was during dinner and we got the entire school to turn into lilies and other types of flowers except for Lily and us. James then walked straight up to her and asked her to marry him in a sea full of students turned to flowers. Once she said yes the school turned back into themselves and no teacher had the heart to punish us because they were all so happy for them." Sirius finished explaining.

"This picture was taken right afterward." Remus said while indicating into the picture that Sirius was previously looking at.

"And that one," he said pointing to the one directly under it, "was taken at their wedding. Did you ever hear about that?" Remus asked.

"I read about it in my dad's journal." Harry said.

"The journal? James was always writing in that thing. He said it was something that every Potter did. Do you do it?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. I started this summer after I became the Head of the Potter family, the remaining of the Potter family." Harry said with the last part under his breath.

"But you probably don't have much in there about when you were a baby." Remus said, trying to change the subject.

Harry shook his head so Remus went on.

"They were shocked when they found out they were going to have a baby. They were excited but shocked because they were so young. Lily was just nineteen." Remus said.

"And when you were born, you were the cutest baby, I swear. You had the cutest little face and a tuff of black hair and the widest emerald eyes that just sparkled." Sirius said.

"Lily was so happy and so was James. When they brought you home they spoiled you to no end but you didn't wine or cry. I think you cried all of two times as a baby, instead you would just make unhappy faces to make it known when you were upset or needed something. You were always so sweet." Remus said.

"And when James put you on that broom when you were just one, he swore that you were going to be an amazing seeker. He was right too. Of course Lily was furious when she discovered that he did that but when she saw you laughing and smiling while zooming around the room, she let it go and just watched you as you perfectly flew that toy broom." Sirius said.

"And then of course there was the time that Dumbledore first came over. You were about a month old and Dumbledore came in to check on the new family. He leaned his head over the crib which he thought you were asleep in. Then, all of a sudden, you yanked on his beard and smiled mischievously at him. He laughed so hard when that happened; I don't think I've ever seen him so happy." Remus said.

"And then, he handed you his wand to play with and it started to let out sparks. You just giggled and smiled but that was impressive. Babies usually don't show signs of magic that early in life but you got Albus Dumbledore's wand to have sparks. It was extremely impressive and he knew you were going to be something special, he told your parents so." Sirius said. "Of course they responded that they knew you were a bright baby."

The stories continued well into the night and Harry ended up falling asleep leaning against Sirius's shoulder. Sirius carried him over to the bed and set an alarm for his early morning. When he looked back he saw his godson curled up like a little kid with both hands curled up close to his face. Sirius left the room with a content smile, something that he had not done on any Halloweens of the latest past.

**Preview: **

**Pranking**

**More Pamela **

**First Hogsmeade Trip **

**A/N: **I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know it was kinda short but I thought it was a good place to end. I now have a definite plan for my story so it won't be so random anymore. I hope you like it and I am still up for suggestions, just because I have a plan does not mean that I can't change minor things or add parts that you think are lacking. Please Review! :) Thank you for reading!


	14. Pranks and Ploys

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter characters.

**A/N: **I can't believe it! I now have over 50 reviews! I want to thank you guys so much for your support! I love you guys! I hope you enjoy reading! I know that the chapters are short but I think I like being able to update faster with less words rather than take longer and have longer chapters but if you want me to return to the other way than leave a note in your review!

**Chapter Fourteen: Pranks and Ploys **

**Thursday, November 1, 5:00 a.m. **

Harry decided to skip his workout today in order to put his prank into action. He spent some time during last weekend brewing this potion and he needed to go down to the kitchen before breakfast if his plan was going to work.

Harry got dressed. He slipped on a pair of dark wash denim pants and a cream-colored crew cut sweater underneath his Gryffindor uniform. He then proceeded to go to the bathroom and comb his somewhat-manageable hair and brush his teeth before slipping on his combat boots and sneaking down the stairs in order to exit the common room.

He creped down the hall, walking stealthily against the wall like a panther, to the portrait of the bowl of fruit where he tickled the pear before entered the kitchens.

He was greeted by a sea of house elves that eagerly asked if there was anything that they could do for him.

"As a matter of fact, I came down here to see if you could put this potion in all the pumpkin juice this morning." Harry asked the closest house elf to him.

"We is not sure we should do that Mister Potter." The house elf squeaked to him while looking up with tear-filled eyes. She rubbed her hands back in forth for not being able to help the young man that visited them often.

Harry squatted down before her and looked her in the eyes. "Why is that?" he asked calmly.

"We is not wanting to harm the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Witchery." She said back to him, poofing out her chest with pride at working in the castle.

"I mean no harm. This potion," Harry said while indicating to the potion in his hand, "does not harm the students. It's a prank, you see." He smiled reassuringly at the little house elf that hesitantly smiled at him.

"A prank? Like the ones that Mister and Mister Weasley ask to do?" the house elf asked.

"Exactly" said Harry while smiling broadly at him.

"We's can help you then." She said brightly, dispatching any notion that she was upset, happy to after-all be able to help the young mister.

Harry laughed lightly at her energetic expression and he handed the potion to her. "Can you make sure this gets in all the pumpkin juice this morning?" he asked.

The house elf smiled and bowed before him before nodding her head affirmatively.

He thanked all of them and paid a special visit to Dobby who was now working in the kitchen before returning back to the Gryffindor common room where everyone would be waking up by now since it was close to seven thirty.

He strolled at a leisurely pace up to his common room where he went up to the dorm room and made sure that Ron was awake.

He found Ron snoring in his bed while the others were getting dressed or taking showers, getting ready for their day.

He was about to wake Ron when Neville starting talking to him.

"Did you ask out anyone yet for the Hogsmeade trip this Saturday?" Neville asked him.

"No, I totally forgot. I think I want to ask Pamela to go with me. She is the easiest person to talk around so I figured why not. How about you? Did you get up the nerve to ask her yet?"

"Yeah" Neville responded with a smile. "I asked her yesterday and she agreed to go with me. We were just going to go to The Three Broomsticks and out shopping. I'm glad that she is not one of those Madam Puddifoot girls." He continued with a light shiver.

Harry laughed lightly at Neville's discomforting, knowing that he himself would not want to step foot in that girly, pink coffee shop.

"Good for you Neville. I'll take up my side of the deal, don't worry." Harry said.

"You bet." Neville smiled and continued to get ready for his day by packing his bookbag.

Harry turned back to the problem at hand: waking Ron up. He could go for the traditional flip him out of bed like regular mornings. Or, he could go for the other tradition. The one that his father typically did with Sirius, as he remembered from his father's journal. He decided to go for the later and pointed his finger at Ron before whispering "Aguamente."

A yell could be heard all the way to the girl's dormitory as Ron was doused with a stream of ice-cold water. When Ron turned to glare at him, Harry simply smiled and walked away; going down the stairs to where he knew Ginny would be ready.

He walked down the stairs and was right. He saw Ginny talking to a few of her classmates who he didn't know by name.

He walked up until he was right behind her and gave her a hug and a brotherly kiss on the top of the head. Ginny turned around and smiled at him and introduced her to her friends, who were quiet obviously, except to Harry, drooling over him.

"Harry, there are my friends, Rebecca Shellpepper" she said indicating to the tall brunette that smiled at Harry and offered her hand for Harry to shake which he did "and Alessandra Lopez" she said indicating to the Latina girl with a friendly smile which Harry again shook hands with.

"Girls, this is Harry Potter." She said. He smiled warmly at them, not knowing the way it turned the two girls into goo.

Rebecca asked "Are you two dating?"

Ginny put up a disgusted face and said "No way. He's like my bestest older brother." She said smiling and pitching his cheek.

Harry swatted away the offending hand and said "No need to look so disgusted. I'm not that hideous looking."

"No you are not" Alessandra said in a weird voice similar to a song.

Harry looked at her funny before shaking it off and asked them if they wanted to walk down to breakfast now.

"Sure thing. Let me get my things." Ginny said.

Harry agreed and picked up his own backpack and meeting the girls outside the portrait. They all four walked down to the Great Hall with Harry, of course, in the middle of the line they formed when walking.

The two girls kept asked questions about his life and he tried his best to be polite but the constant questioning was getting quite annoying. Ginny, realizing his frustration, directed the conversation that Harry did not necessarily have to be a part of: fashion. The three girls continued to talk about fashion all the way down to the Great Hall, much to Harry's relieve. He said goodbye to Ginny and gave her a hug before nodding his head to the two friends and sitting down next to Seamus who was the first from his year to arrive to breakfast.

Harry smiled, remembering what he had planned and grabbed the orange juice instead of the pumpkin juice.

After ten minutes the Great Hall was completely filled with students, Ron and Hermione sat across from him and looked at him suspiciously when he laughed at their choice of drink: pumpkin juice.

They continued to sip the drink while staring at him like he had finally lost his mind. They realized moments later the reason for their laughter when half the students started rapidly gaining weight and began floating around the room. They turned into huge balls and floated around the room, bumping into one another and spilling meals.

The ones who did not drink the pumpkin juice that morning were laughing at the misfortune of the others and clapping their hands.

After a couple of minutes, Harry discreetly pointed his left hand finger at the group of students floating in the air and encouraged the group to spell out his Maurder name.

They moved around until everyone could make out the word Aeroterra. Then, after promptly spelling out his name, they floated down to the ground and changed into their regular selves with a laugh. Harry was happy to notice that Draco Malfoy was included in the group that turned into balloon-like people.

Harry laughed along with the others, knowing that he couldn't get blamed for the prank since no one really knew that he was Aeroterra besides his godfather and Remus. He would just have to make sure that they didn't go around calling him that. Besides, they like to call him 'pup' anyway.

Ron and Hermione sat down and glared at Harry before betraying themselves and started laughing which ended up setting the table off in another round of laughter.

* * *

Later that day, after double seventh year Potions, Harry caught up with Pamela who was walking with her friend Josie down the corridor. He called after her and stopped and told her friend to go ahead without her.

He jogged up to her and asked her "Are you going with anyone to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

She shook her head and looked over at him through her eyelashes, trying to look as cute as possible.

Harry smiled and took her head in his while asked her "Pamela Clareborine, would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

She smiled at him and said "Yes" before giving him a hug.

He led her down the hall to her next class, which turned out to be Ancient Runes, before going back to his dorm room, thinking about what he should do on his date.

**

* * *

**

Saturday, November 3, 9 a.m.

Harry let himself sleep in; knowing that today was going to be eventful. It was his first date with Pamela and to be honest with himself, it was his first date in general.

He made sure to look extra nice today and took his time getting ready. He selected one of his better tops: a gray, v-neck, cashmere sweater paired with dark wash straight-leg jeans. He combed his hair into a perfect swoop and brushed his teeth. He then tied up his dragon-skin combat boots. He rarely ever wore anything else for these shoes were the most comfortable and with his life he needed to be ready for anything.

He even helped Neville get ready. Neville was wearing a maroon crew cut sweater overtop a white oxford. He wore regular jeans and a pair of black dress shoes. They both walked down the stairs to collect their dates. Neville saw Ginny at the bottom of the stairs and almost lost his confidence until Harry gave him a little push toward the girl. Harry winked at them before waiting for Pamela to come down. She was in seventh year Gryffindor so he just staying in the common room. He waited ten minutes before she came down.

She was dressed in a pair of tight-fitting light wash skinny jeans, a swop neck cream blouse with a light pink cardigan overtop. She smiled when she saw him get up to greet her.

She put her hand in his offered hand and they both walked down to the village. Harry was ignoring all the stares but Pamela was radiating off of them. She seemed to soak up all the attention and sometimes forgot what they were discussing.

Harry and Pamela made their way down to the shops where he let her chose the location.

"Where would you like to go?" he asked her when they reached the village.

"There is this new jewelry shop that just opened up that I want to go to." Pamela told him.

"Lead the way" he replied.

She used the hand that they were connected with the steer him down road to the shop that she wanted to go to.

The shop was called Sinful Ice. They entered the store and heard a ding. A lady behind the counter looked up when she heard people entering and looked at the beautiful couple before her. She knew that she could get some money from them. But instead she asked them, "Is there anything I can get for you two lovelies?"

Harry blushed at the words of endearment but Pamela answered for them "We just came here today to look at your jewelry."

"Right over here, dear. I just got a new display and I can just see this bracelet on you. You would look so gorgeous." The lady said while showing Pamela a new gold bracelet with sparkling gems dangling from various positions on the bracelet.

Harry was standing behind her and complimented her on the bracelet and how nice it looked on her. Pamela smiled at him before going to pay for it.

Before she could get out her money pouch, Harry put a hand on her hand and said that he could pay for it.

Pamela put up no protest as Harry took out the twenty five galleons for the bracelet.

They exited the store and Pamela asked Harry to put the bracelet on her.

"Sure" he replied while taking one of his tanned hands and slowly lifting her hand up and clamping the bracelet around her delicate wrist. He kept hold of the hand as they walked down the stores, occasionally going into the store where Harry would purchase what she wanted or if he found something of interest.

By lunchtime, they made their way to the Three BroomSticks where they got a booth in the corner and a wink from Madam Rosemerta.

Harry order them both butterbeers and Sheppard's pie and they discussed some of their classes. They did not even notice when there were photographers taking pictures of the couple as they ate and discussed.

When lunch was over, Harry placed some galleons on the table before leading Pamela outside. They strolled along the meadows adjoining the village and then they stopped and sat on a bench under a tree.

Harry took both of Pamela's hands and looked her in the eyes before asking, "Pamela, will you be my girlfriend?"

Pamela said yes and they both leaned over and shared a sweet kiss. Harry removed his hands from hers and brought them to her face were they traced her jaw line and chin while her hands moved to the nape of his neck as she played with his hair. They did not even notice when the photographer took pictures of the two as they made out underneath the tree.

They did notice however when they saw pictures of themselves on the front page of the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly.

* * *

Harry read the Daily Prophet article in silent anger for he did not want anyone reporting on his life and he most certainly did not want to drag Pamela into the media.

**The Most Eligible Bachelor is Taken **

_**Harry Potter, the most eligible bachelor, finds a girlfriend **_

_Harry Potter, age 15, is known for many things but the one thing that he is yet to be known for is having a girlfriend. Up until now Harry Potter has never been in a relationship. But, this reported spotted him yesterday with Pamela Clareborine, age 17. She is a Gryffindor seventh year with deep brunette hair. She is about three inches smaller than our hero, who is now 5'9''. _

_They make an adorable couple. They went into the new jewelry store known as Sinful Ice where he proceeded to buy her a new gem-infused bracelet. They went into various stores include Zonkos, Wallow's Quidditch shop, and the Three Broomsticks. When they were at the Three Broomsticks (pictures included to the right), our hero order for the both of them and proceeded to hold her hand and talk with her the entire evening like a perfect gentleman. _

_After their lunch they strolled in the adjoining meadows where they eventually ended up kissing under a tree (picture to the left). _

_So, it is official girls, Harry Potter, the most eligible bachelor, is no longer single! We will have to see where their relationship goes as this reporter works to keep you posted. _

Harry placed the newspaper down on the table and looked to his left to see Pamela's reaction to the article. He did not like the news report but he had to deal with it being the light side's hero. Pamela, on the other hand, could always leave him to get away from the press.

When he looked over, he noticed that she did not seem to be upset. When she noticed his eyes on her, she smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek.

"I don't mind the fame, Harry. I know that it comes with being with you and I'm okay with that." She said. Inside, she was glad to have the fame that came along with dating Harry. Not only did she have a sexy, nice boyfriend, she also had fame and people always looked at her when she went down the hallway.

Harry smiled at her in appreciation and simply kissed the palm of her hand that he was holding, oblivious to the thought that we occurring in her head.

**Preview: **

**The Dueling Competetion **

**More of Pamela and Harry's relationship **


	15. The Dueling Competition

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter characters.

**A/N: **I want to thank everyone for their support in this story. I feel overjoyed that over sixty people have reviewed my story and I want to thank everyone that did because each review puts a smile on my face. Thank you so much and I hope you like this next chapter!

**Chapter Fifteen: The Dueling Competition **

**Friday, November 9, 6:30 p.m. **

Harry and the Gryffindor gang were all practicing for the dueling competition that was going to be occurring tomorrow in the afternoon. Neville, who was not competing, was reading a book silently in the corner, sneaking glances at his new girlfriend, Ginny Weasley.

They had gotten along extremely well during the Hogsmeade trip last week and Neville had the courage to ask her to be his girlfriend. They had no told anyone about their relationship because they were fearful of Ron's reaction to the thought of his younger sister dating. Her previous attempts to calm her older brother about her dating had always been a waste and she hoped to keep their relationship quiet for a while longer.

Harry and Pamela, on the other hand, were a very public couple. They spent their week together constantly at each other's sides. Pamela even went as far as to watch his Quidditch practice one morning. He liked having someone care for him. Pamela, he soon realized, cared a lot about public appearances and they had very few romantic moments. He just felt that there was something missing, not that he would tell that to anyone.

Harry was right now practicing for the completion along with Ron, the twins, Seamus, Dean, and Ginny. They were all practicing, with the approval of Professor McGonagall, in an unused Arithmancy classroom, much like Harry did last year during his training for the Triwizard Tournament.

"Harry, do you mind teaching me some advanced shields?" Ginny called out to Harry who was organizing the library in his mind for battle techniques.

Harry snapped out of his organization to respond, "Sure thing." He climbed to the feet from where he was previously sitting cross-legged on the floor. His movements, some would say, were almost cat-like. There was a certain way that his back arched, rippling all the muscles as he moved to work the knots from his back. He walked gracefully over to the smaller red head and instructed her as best he knew how, through example and explanation.

"The easiest shield to use is Protego. But, it is very limited in its uses. It can only be used when you are stationary. It uses less power and can only deflect smaller curses like the bat-bogey hex, the disarming spell or minor stinging hexes. It produces a bronze defense against your opponent." Harry said while using his left hand to perform the shield. "The main weakness is that it does not protect you from anyone attacking from the back which should not be as much of a problem in dueling whereas it would be impractical in combat."

"The shield one step about it is the Contego shield. It can be used similar to the Protego but it can be used when in movement. It has the same defenses but because it is used when moving, it takes more power." Harry said while producing the silver defense with his left index finger.

"The shield that I use the most is called the Viresma. It is the strongest shield that I know. It uses a lot of power and I read that it can be tiring when produced during long durations though I have never encountered that issue. It can be uses either as a wall in front of you or a dome around you. It protects from most ever curse except for the Unforgivable. It absorbs the spell which I think is the only downside." Harry said.

By now, everyone in the room was listening to his advice, even Neville who was not going to compete. It was sometimes hard to not pay attention to that powerful voice when Harry was talking in his element. It only solidified the idea that Harry was a leader.

"If you want a shield that repels the curse back to the originator, I would recommend using Devolta. It does not take as much energy but does not cover your entire body. Does that answer your question, Ginny?" Harry asked.

Ginny smiled and nodded at him before thanking him and moving to the side of the room to practice her spell against a dummy that they created themselves that evening.

Harry went back to sitting, this time on a couch at the back of the room. He was getting ready to organize his mind again when he felt someone sit down next to him. He looked over and saw his girlfriend, Pamela, sitting next to him, soon curled up to his side with her head propped up against his chest. He smiled down at her before wrapping his arm around her waist and continuing to sort through his mind, absentmindedly playing with her deep brown hair with his other hand.

Pamela was feeling a little guilty for using her relationship with Harry to gain attention. In the beginning, she felt fine because she believed that Harry was a stereotypical hero who did not have the gentle heart that Harry had.

She did not know that Harry would turn out to be one of the sweetest people that she ever met in her life. He put up with all the adoring public without seeming rude or arrogant. He handled himself with power yet with humility. He had a hard time accepting a compliment even when it was properly earned though he constantly complimented those around him. These were a few of the things that Pamela learned about Harry in the week that they had been a couple.

She was planning on changing her scheming ways to try and stop manipulating her boyfriend for public effects. Though she still couldn't deny her love for the public, she felt bad for exploiting him and decided to put that to a stop.

She finished her musing and got up to look at her boyfriend who was sitting on the couch. He had just finished teaching Ginny and anyone who was listening about shields and he was now peacefully sitting on the couch in the corner of the room. She walked over to him and sat down at the couch right next to him.

She noticed Harry look down and smile at her as she nuzzled her way to rest on his chest. After a couple of minutes she felt Harry's fingers cart through her hair in a calming effect and she soon found herself going to sleep listening to the sound of Harry's steady heartbeat and feeling his gentle fingers run through her hair.

**

* * *

**

Saturday, November 10, 10:00 a.m.

"May I have everyone's attention." Dumbledore said to the noisy, excited crowd.

When they heard the Headmaster talk, the room fell quiet, awaiting his next words.

The Great Hall was empty of all the tables and instead there was a circular platform in the middle of the room surrounded by chairs. The students were all sitting in the chairs. Dumbledore was sitting in the middle of five seats on a raised platform to one side of the circle.

"I would like to begin today's school dueling championship." He said. The room fell into cheers for a minute before Dumbledore continued talking. "Anyone who signed up, from third to seventh year was able to participate. We will begin with competing against the same grade until we receive that grade's champion. Then the winners from each grade will compete against each other until we determine the champion. The champion will receive one hundred galleons, the title of Hogwarts dueling champion, and the chance to compete in the international dueling competition held between five different schools."

The room listened as the headmaster explained the rules of the game. Anything was allowed except the Unforgivable and the Dark Arts. The winner would be determined by the judges after ten minutes was called or when someone became unconscious. The match would not be over when the first person lost their wand because, like Dumbledore pointed out, muggle methods and wandless magic were allowed.

"Now let us introduce the judges of the duel. Let me introduce the real Alastor Moody, former Auror who helped in capturing over half the death eaters in the first part of the war." Moody limped out onto the raised platform and gave a curt nod before sitting down in a chair to the right of Dumbledore while the students clapped politely.

"Second, we have current Auror, Nymphadora Tonks. She is currently working with incoming Aurors during their training and you might have seen her patrolling the castle." Tonks walked out onto the area and smiled at everyone, making sure to put on a show as her hair changed into different colors of the rainbow as she sat down to the left of Dumbledore on the raised platform. The students clapped and whistled as she took a low bow and smiled to them.

"Third, we have Remus Lupin, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher from our very own Hogwarts." The students cheered loudly as the man walked quietly to the raised platform and smiled gently down at his students who cheers loudly for him.

"Fourth, we have the Defense Against the Dark Arts novelist, Seymour Pilon. He is a former French Auror who now writes advanced defense books." A tall, handsome Frenchmen walked into the room, causing most of the girls to sigh as he walked elegantly up to the raised platform smiling as the clapping and catcalls increased. He took his seat and everyone went silent as the headmaster stood up.

"I would like to begin with the third years. Each person's name has been given to a cup which draws out names of the two people who will duel. The first people are…" He took a name from the cup "Sarah Pepperhill" the small girl with wavy brown hair that reminded him of Hermione got wide-eyed and nervously made her way to the circle stage where she waited for her opponent. Dumbledore drew out another name which read "Samuel Johnson." A brown-haired third year Hufflepuff went up to the stage and smiled nervously at the third year Ravenclaw and they began to duel after Dumbledore counted to three.

This continued until the third year winner turned out to be Josh Adams, a tall blonde haired boy with some freckles that stretched across his nose and cheekbones.

"Now we will continue to the forth year competition." Dumbledore pulled out four different pairs of people until he got to the person that Harry was waiting for: Ginny. Ginny was going to compete against Alessandra Lopez, her Latina friend that Harry had meet a week or two ago.

The two girls approached the middle of the circular platform and waited until Dumbledore called to three.

Alessandra called the first spell-the stunning spell. Ginny easily put up a protego shield before retaliating with her own disarming spell.

The duel continued for five minutes before Ginny knocked the Latina girl unconscious. Harry cheered loudly for him and hugged her as she sat down next to him. He was seated between Ginny and Pamela while Ron and Hermione were to the right of Ginny.

Dean and a Slytherin that Harry did not hear the name for were the next people to duel. They were the first people that Harry saw really use the entire space. They used many muggle dueling methods to duck out of a spells or surprise their opponent. The dueled for the complete ten minutes but the Slytherin, who Harry found out was named Penefer Lee Harperson, won because he proved to know more varieties in spells and was the person with the least amount of damage.

Ginny dueled down to the final two fourth years. It was now just her and Penefer. They bowed to each other and took the necessary steps back for each shooting a spell at the same time and ducking simultaneously.

They each moved around the circle, eyes focused on each other as they waited for the opposite to make the move. Ginny ended up being the one to attack first. She shot the bat-bogey het at him which he used a Protego shield to block. He then fired a spell that would tie ropes around her feet but she leapt out of the way.

This back and forth spell and blocking went on for seven minutes until Penefer hit her with a strong Expelliarmus then a quick Stupefy.

"The fourth year dueling champion is Penefer Lee Harperson." There was a round of cheers, especially from the Slytherin side of the room. "Now, we will proceed on to the fifth year dueling competition." Everyone perked up at this. This was the year that everyone wanted to pay attention to: this was the competition that Harry Potter would he competing in. "The first names are Ronald Weasley and Milicent Bulstrode."

Ron and Milicent approached the circular platform. It was sufficient to say that it was a quick duel. Ron had her unconscious after the first minute.

The dueling continued for a couple of rounds, including those of Hermione, who used an invisibility spell on herself before attacking her opponent from behind and Seamus, who lost to a Slytherin.

The next pair of names left everyone on the edge of their seat: "Harry Potter… and Draco Malfoy."

Harry stood up and rolled his shoulders while walking in strides to his side of the platform. To those who he passed, they would say that he oozed power as he glided across the floor.

Malfoy walked up with even more aristocratic grace than ever. He held his head high and his steel eyes pierced into Harry as they were both standing, across from one another, on the circular platform.

The room was quiet as Dumbledore counted to three. The two duelers did nothing. They walked around the edge of the circular platform with their backs slightly arched, eying each other like prey. It was when Harry stopped that Draco did as well. They both shot spells at each other. Harry dodged out of the way of his while Draco put up a quick shield, not even bothering to move. They continued this calm battle before all hell broke loose on the stage. They were from quiet battle to full-on war. They shot spells as fast as they could while either dodging or shielding themselves from the ones that were headed their way. Harry made good use of his wandless magic in order to not get behind in spellcasting while Draco depended on his reflexes to dodge some of them. It was clear to Harry that Draco had been taught how to duel this summer.

It was getting close to the ten minute mark and there was still no decided winner. But, then something happened in a blink of an eye. If someone were to look away even for a minute then they would have missed it. Harry got past one of Draco's shields by pouring in extra power. He hit him with an Expelliarmus followed by a full body bind and a stupefy.

Harry was pronounced the winner and he returned to his seat and received an encouraging pat from Pamela and smiles from those around him.

The rounds continued to proceed with Ron winning another match against a Ravenclaw, Hermione losing against another Gryffindor and Harry winning against a Slytherin. It was now down to Harry, Draco, Ron, and a Hufflepuff known as Andrew Niky. Draco and Ron dueled and Ron lost after two minutes. Harry and Andrew dueled and Harry won after a minute.

It was now down to Harry and Draco again. They prepared their attacks and knew that they could not use the same strategy over again.

Draco decided he was going to try and beat Harry by using sword fighting. Sword fighting was something that old purebloods bothered to learn and he thought that he could get Harry by using something that he did not know.

They both bowed and Draco on unsheathed the sword that he brought with him to the duel. Draco smirked as he heard collective gasps from around the room. He looked at Harry, expected to see him afraid. He did not expect to see him smirking.

Harry calmly rose up his hand and summoned the sword of Gryffindor while taking a fighting stance. People gasp even more as they saw this.

Draco looked a little hesitant but he mirrored the same stance.

They fought across the stage, performing in a sort of dance of clashing swords. It was after five minutes that Harry got Draco's sword from his hand. Draco looked in panic before pulling out his wand and magically dueled Harry.

Harry banished his sword before using all the gymnastic he knew to escape from Draco's incoming spells. People were in awe at his movements for they had only seen him from afar when he was practicing. The audience could see that Draco was running out of power and so did Harry. Just when they reached nine minutes, Harry stood perfectly tall while Draco was hunched over, having a difficult time breathing from the amount of work that he had just put in. Harry looked Draco in the eye before simply flicking his finger and rendering Draco unconscious.

The crowed erupting in cheers and Harry blushed as he was pronounced the winner for the fifth years.

The sixth and seventh years turned out to be the typical competition. The winners were Angelia Johnson in seventh year and Justin Marcher, a Slytherin with short blonde hair, in sixth year.

After each of the year's champions was announced, the school took a break for lunch. They had a quick meal where everyone could rest, especially the champions. They rested and regained their strength before starting back into the competition.

The five champions battled each other until they were down to the last two: Harry from fifth year and Angelia from seventh year.

They smiled at each other before taking a fighting stance. They bowed to each other and dueled. They each had their own strength which they used relentlessly. Harry was great at combining muggle and magical fighting while Angelia was great at forming tactics and ploys. They dueled for eight minutes before Harry did an unexpected thing and turned into a cobra. He slid out in front of her and hissed. Before he knew it, she fell down in a dead faint from fear. Harry knew she was extremely afraid of snakes and used it to his advantage.

The room erupted in cheers as Harry was pronounced the Hogwart's Dueling Champion and was rewarded his hundred galleons. He made his way through the crowd and shared a quick kiss with Pamela before hugging all of his friends and giving the money to Madeline who hugged him and promised not to spend it all at Honeyduke's.

He went to bed that night with a small smile on his face, feeling complete and happy with his life.

**Preview: **

**Another Quidditch game (Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw) **

**Harry becomes suspicious of Draco **


	16. Sports and Schemes

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter characters.

**A/N**: I got a review asking the position of Pamela in the story. Was she good or was she bad? I personally made her out to be a somewhat reformed girl. She is basically nice but she has her weak points and fame is one of them. Fame is what drew her to Harry but after a week she realizes that there is more to Harry than fame and good looks. I hope that cleared that up for everyone.

**A/N 2**: I just wanted to thank everyone so much for reading, reviewing and marking this story as one of your favorites. It means so much to me and I just wanted to thank everyone for putting up with my sporadic updates because I am a new writer and I am in the middle of an extremely busy year. Thank you again!

**Chapter Sixteen: Sports and Schemes**

**Saturday November 17, 5:00 a.m. **

"Mate, wake up." Harry called to the sleeping Ron, snoring oblivious to the world, a little bit of drool seen decorating his pillow.

"Mate" Harry tried again a little louder. The rest of the guys from the team were already up and about to get ready for their practice. Harry booked the pitch for the morning in order to prepare for another Quidditch match later in the afternoon.

Harry was starting to get annoyed. Ron just wouldn't get up. He had been trying for the last five minutes to wake his sleeping best friend but now he was going to have to resort to drastic measures.

Harry leaned close to Ron's ear and yelled in his ear "WAKE UP!"

Harry quickly moved his head as Ron's head flew from the pillow and he turned his head around to try and see where the trouble was. He turned and saw Harry with his hands on his hips looking like he was suppressing a smirk.

Ron glared at him and looked like he was about to go back to sleep until Harry said, "Oh no you don't. I hope you didn't forget that we have a match today."

At the mention of Quidditch, Ron got out of bed with a last groan and head to the showers where the rest of the team was getting ready for their day.

* * *

"I…can't believe…. we practiced that hard." Seamus said out of breath on their way up to the castle.

They were going to eat and have another two hours to cool down and relax before the Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor would commence.

"It wasn't that bad." Harry tried to ease their minds while on the inside he knew he might have worked them a bit too hard. He just wanted to prove himself to be a good captain and have everyone, including himself, know that he deserved to be named captain and didn't just earn it based off of his fame.

"Easy for you to say, Harry." Katie said to the right of him. "You work out all the time. The rest of us," she said using her hand to indicate the rest of the team, "don't exercise like you do."

Harry shook his head in exasperation. "Nonsense, we practice all the time and we deserve to win. If you are ever on doubt of your skill or your fitness, know that we have never lost a game and we never will."

The team lit up over the praise and soon forgot of their complaints and instead discussed the latest gossip around Hogwarts- the new Hufflepuff couple and a missing owl of a first year Ravenclaw.

They continued walking together and soon enough they all reached the Great Hall entrance. When they entered to door, all of the people at the Gryffindor table cheered and Harry felt some of the heat rise to his face as he sat down with the team at the middle of the table.

Pamela soon joined him and slipped her hand around his waist and kissed his cheek. He smiled at her and in turn placed his hand on her thigh and lightly squeezed it, silently thanking her for her support.

The team ate a nice meal before heading their separate ways to prepare for the game. Seamus walked with Katie outside while discussing some of the chaser tactics. Seamus went up to the Gryffindor dorms to take a quick nap. Ron headed off to the library with Hermione, after Hermione pestered him about not starting his homework already. Fred and George, as usual, were off privately discussing when they were going to open their joke shop. Angela was off talking to a Hufflepuff guy that she had a crush on.

This left Harry and Pamela to themselves. They walked out of the castle, hand in hand, and let the chilly air breeze through their hair and move their light jackets around. They made their way down to the shore where they sat on a bench and curled up together to talk about anything that entered their minds.

* * *

An hour later the team was back in the Quidditch rooms and Harry was giving them a traditional speech. He never really had one planned out like Oliver used to but he tried his best to uplift everyone's spirits before the big games.

He was getting comfortable leading people and become a leader and this took him by surprise.

They walked out on the pitch this time in a single line with Harry in the middle. The crowd cheered as they made their way to the center of the pitch. Harry broke apart from the line and approached the other team captain. It turned out that Cho had been made team captain that year after their previous captain graduated.

He approached the Ravenclaw and shook her hand politely. He remembered how last year he had a huge crush on her and he realized now that it was just a crush and he did not hold any real feelings for her, other than friendship. While he was making his revelation, Cho was thinking of ways that she could make Harry her friend. She really did like him last year but had already gotten a date for the Yule Ball with Cedric. She liked Harry but knew that she was not ready for a relationship so soon after the death of her last boyfriend but she also recognized how sweet of a guy Harry was and wanted to form a closer friendship between them.

They both walked back to their respective teams and waited for Madam Hooch to announce the beginning of the game.

"Three…Two…One" Madam Hooch counted down before blowing the whistle. All the team members shot up in the air marking the beginning of the match. The crowd cheered as the team members went to their spots and began playing.

Harry went to the top of the sky and skimmed across the sky looking around for the snitch and at the match.

Nicholas Silver, the announcer, began to make his commentary, alerting Harry that Ravenclaw was in the lead by ten. The score was fifty to forty.

Harry looked around at his players and realized that they were in a little need of assistance. He swopped down lower in the sky and started darting in and out of the Ravenclaw players to confuse them and make them mess up their plays. After Gryffindor made three goals, Harry went higher in the sky in search of the snitch.

He kept his concentration with the autumn wind ruffling his hair and the sun beating down on his back. Even through the cold, he remained concentrated on finding the little golden ball that was until Cho caught his attention.

"Hey Harry!" she called, flying a little closer to him in order to initiate a conversation.

Harry reluctantly turned his attention to the girl in front of him. "Hey Cho, did you need something?" he asked.

"I just wanted to warn you about something I heard last weekend." Cho said to the raven-haired boy.

"Yeah?" Harry asked, now in full attention.

"I heard from a fellow Ravenclaw that your girlfriend had alternate motives for wanting to be with you." She replied with her bottom lip in between her teeth, a sign of her worry. She wanted Harry to be her friend and she rationalized that since friends told each other when something was wrong, that she should tell him about Pamela.

"Pamela? What are you talking about?" Harry replied. He was not one to believe in rumors. He liked to go straight to the source but Cho looked extremely sincere so he would listen to her for now and ask Pamela about it later.

"I was talking in the common room with another Ravenclaw and she overheard Pamela saying that she only began dating you because she liked you for your fame and because you are attractive." She said, a light blush dusting his face when she said the last part.

Harry thought over what she said and stored it in the back of his mind to talk to Pamela about later. But, for now, he needed to focus on winning the game.

"Thank you Cho. I'll think about what you said and talk to Pamela about it later. But, right now, I need to focus on the game." He said and flew off after she said goodbye.

He flew around the pitch, in any which direction. He flew low to the ground and would dart up through the Ravenclaw players. He flew up high around the pitch. He flew all over the place in search of the golden snitch but it was nowhere to be found.

The game was now in Ravenclaw lead with one hundred and thirty for Ravenclaw and ninety for Gryffindor. The game had been going on for well over an hour and he knew that he team was getting tired so he needed to find the snitch and he needed to find it fast.

He circled around the Ravenclaw goal and zigzagged across the field to the Gryffindor goal where he said a few encouraging words to Ron, who he knew would be feeling a little upset after letting so many Ravenclaw goals in.

It was fifteen minutes later when he spotted something glistening above in the sky. He looked closely and realized it was the snitch. He darted up and was quickly followed by Cho. They got to the top of the sky, all that the spectators could see were two dots. When they finally reached to grab the snitch it flew straight down. The two seekers glanced briefly at each other before darting after the little ball. They headed down practically in a straight downward angle.

They got closer and closer to the ground.

Fifty feet…

Thirty feet…

Ten feet…

Three feet…

Cho turned to look at Harry who didn't seem to be in any hurry to lift up. She knew that she could not get any lower than that so she turned her broom up and watched as Harry continued down to the snitch.

One foot…

Half a foot…

The crowd stood up in their seats, believed that the star seeker was going to crash. Many people yelled for him to lift up already and he finally did at 3 inches off the ground.

He stood up onto his broom and continued flying standing up much like he did during his first game and during the summer when he was practicing. The crowd cheered for the impressive play but the snitch was still not caught.

Cho caught up to him, flying a little above him for she was flying in a regular position and not on her feet. The snitch, sensing that it was being chased by two people, started to move upward again and fly in a zigzag pattern. Harry directed his broom up with his foot and did a back flip to land in a sitting position on this broom. The crowd cheered as the race continued.

The two seekers continued to fly at breakneck speed, all other aspects of the game stopped a while ago to see the impressive two seekers play the game.

It was then that one of the Ravenclaw beaters directed a bludger at Harry which is permitted in the game. The only problem was that Fred and George, the two beaters for the Gryffindor team, could not get to the pair in time and Harry was hit square in the ribs. A large cracking sound could be heard amongst the silence.

The Gryffindor team thought for sure that they had lost but then they saw the determination still in Harry's eyes and they began to clap for him as he continued to follow the snitch around the field for a whole other minute before grasping it in his hands.

The cheer that went up was like no other. Everyone in the audience was extremely impressed by both seekers for their skill, especially Harry who made an impressive dive and played through an injury.

When Harry landed on the ground, his teammates helped him walk over to Dumbledore who conjured up a stretcher and directed Harry to lie down on it.

* * *

An hour later Harry was still laying down asleep on the hospital bed as Madam Pomfrey was healing him. His teams were in the room with him as well as Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Sirius, Remus, and Hermione.

The adults were sitting close by his side and the children were standing up.

Madam Pomfrey gave him a sleeping draught to make him fall asleep while she fixed up his ribs. He got three broken ribs while he was playing the game and she didn't want him to feel any more pain while she was fixing them.

Now that they were fixed, they were just waiting for him to wake up. Madam Pomfrey said he would wake up when he body thought that he had enough sleep but since Harry always had a busy schedule, it was taking them longer than they expected.

When it got to nighttime, they decided that they would go to visit him the morning and that obviously he needed his rest and would not be waking up any time soon.

* * *

At midnight, Harry woke up and looked around to see where he was. After seeing all the beds and the extremely white room he realized he was in the Hospital Wing.

_Why do I always end up the Hospital Wing? _He thought to himself as he moved his legs away from the bed and onto the floor and grabbed his wand.

He was feeling awake and full of energy so he thought that while no one was watching him he would go for a midnight stroll of the castle. For some reason he always liked to sneak away from the hospital wing, it was like taking an adventure.

_And besides, I will come back before Madam Pomfrey wakes up so no one will know that I have even left. _He thought to himself as he let himself out of the hospital and into the corridors, still wearing the striped pajama outfit that everyone from the hospital was forced to wear.

He walked aimlessly down the corridors, sometimes talking to the portrait that liked to stay up. He talked to Peeves for a little bit who was going to throw dung bombs down the adjacent corridor so Harry made a mental note not to go down there in fear of being blames for the incident.

He walked all the way up to the seventh floor corridor when he saw something interesting.

Draco Malfoy was walking across the wall three times and suddenly, a door appeared in the previously empty wall. Harry watched as Malfoy walked through said door and then the door disappeared.

Harry looked around before stepping into the hallway. He looked around but all he saw was a painting of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls ballet. He made note of the location of the mysterious door and wanted to return to it later for now he needed to return to the hospital wing before anyone noticed his absence.

He returned to the Hospital Wing and gently closed the door as to not disturb anyone in the room. There were three people also being treated. There was a second year Ravenclaw who received a wizard's cold which causes weird things to happen when he sneezed. There was a seventh year Ravenclaw chaser from the game who got a broken arm after trying to catch a quaffle at the same time as one of the Weasley hitting a bludger at her. The third patient was a third year Gryffindor who thought it would be funny to try to jump from one moving stair to the other and ended up falling down two floors. He ended up with a broken leg, a fractured rib, and a detention cleaning cauldrons with Professor Snape, who most Gryffindors still believed was an evil teacher.

Harry was still not in the mood to go back to sleep so he took out his journal, which was brought in the room by Remus, and wrote down his findings.

_Dear Journal, _

_I recently discovered something extremely interesting. I was walking down the halls at night after I received a Quidditch injury and I discovered something very peculiar. I was in the seventh floor corridor across from the Barnabas the Barmy portrait when I saw Malfoy walking three times back and forth close to the wall. At first I thought he was crazy but then a door all of a sudden appears on the wall and he walks through. Then, the door disappears as if it were never there at all. _

_I think I am going to do some research on it and ask Hermione later if she knows anything about it. I know Malfoy is up to something but I do not know what. _

_Another interesting thing happened during the game besides me being him by a quaffle. Cho told me that Pamela only starting dating me for my fame and my supposed good looks. I am not going to think much on it before I talk to Pamela but I hope that Cho was misinformed. _

_Sincerely, _

_Harry J. Potter _

Harry closed his journal and placed it back onto the dresser but tucking back into bed and sleeping another three hours before Madam Pomfrey came busting into the room and giving him his last dose of potion for his ribs before sending him on his way.

**Preview: **

**Pamela and Harry have a talk **

**Christmas Hogsmeade Trip **

A/N: I hope no one is angry at me for not updating in a while I just seriously could not find the time. I hope you enjoyed and it was not too short. The next chapter I believe is going to be a bit longer and filled with a twist.

Final Questions: Do you guys want Pamela and Harry to remain together after Pamela reveals her true intentions at first? Should Harry's team begin to train in the morning with him? What should happen with Cho? 

Thank you everyone for reading especially those who reviewed my lasted chapter, chapter fifteen.

**Count chocula- **thank you for your review! I am trying my best to correct spelling but I am not the best at grammar so you'll have to put up with me. :) If you have any suggestions as to Pamela I left an open-ended question meant for suggestions in my A/N and I would love to hear your feedback.

**WandUsingNinjaWithaDeathNote**- Pamela is a mixture of a good and back character. I wanted to have bad intentions in the beginning but turn out to really like him (but still have some problems with liking the fame) but I don't think I properly portrayed that in the story. I have some sort of idea for the next chapter on how to remedy that but I am open to suggestions.

**Jfitzgerald- **Thank you for the review and I am sorry it took so long to update again. I hope you continue to read.

**Kookookarli- **You are right that Harry would not typically use people's fears against them but I wanted to bring out Harry's Slytherin side of using Parselmouth and being more cunning. I did not mean for him to sound mean.

**ILoveGeorgeEads- **thank you for taking the time to review my story and I love that you are reading!

**willow jane wild- **I am glad that you like my story and thank you for the review!


	17. Confrontations

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter characters.

**Chapter Seventeen: Confrontations **

**Saturday, December 1, 5:15 a.m. **

"Okay everyone!" Harry called to the group of friends in front of him. They blinked at him with droopy eyes while trying to keep awake long enough to hear what he was about to say.

The Quidditch team decided to join Harry for his early morning trainings to improve their game. They wanted to improve but they did not anticipate the strain to get up at this early of an hour.

"About this time, I am usually jogging around the lake so we should get started!" Harry called out to the group while starting at a light jog around the lake.

The team followed behind him in a similar pace but when it got to a quarter of the way around the lake, Harry started to speed up to a run. The team behind him could not keep up as fast for they were slightly out of breathe and could not run that fast anyway. He slowed down to jog when he was all the way around the lake. Sometimes he ran two times around the lake but he figured that the team would need to get used to one lap before they move on to multiple. And he was correct because when he turned around the team was still three-fourths across the lake.

He spent his time waiting there by stretching to cool down and not strain his muscles.

They made it back to him in a couple of minutes and he instructed them to stretch and cool down like he did.

They then moved on to gymnastics and stretching for those who could not do gymnastics. Harry walked in front of them and taught them some basic stretches and gymnastics exercises before moving off to the side and doing his own training. After thirty minutes, they took a quick swim and headed back to the castle.

"God Harry! Why do you do that all the time? It was torture!" Seamus yelled out, ending with a disgruntled moan.

Harry chuckled a little at the horror on Seamus's face before replying "It gets better after a while and I needed to do the training."

The others were quiet in an attempt to regain their breath.

They made it to the Gryffindor common room and went upstairs to get ready for their trip to Hogsmeade. This was the last trip before Christmas and practically everyone was going in order to buy presents and stock up on jokes for the holidays.

* * *

An hour later, everyone was making their way down the pathway to Hogsmeade. Neville and Ginny were discretely holding hands in order for Ron not to see but Harry saw them and gave Ginny a smile which she returned before giving her full attention back to Neville. Ron and Hermione were walking down the pathway while they were arguing. Harry chuckled softly as he saw his two best friends who acted more like an old married couple than a couple of teenagers.

He then drew his attention back to his girlfriend. He really needed to talk to her before going to Hogsmeade with her. Even with her snuggling up to his side as they walking, he felt uncomfortable. He really needed to talk to her about what Cho said. He did not like it when anyone lied to him or only liked him for his fame. He did not like to believe rumors but this was one that would not leave him mind.

He told Pamela that he wanted to talk to her for a minute and led them down to the deserted park where they shared their first kiss. They stopped by a bench and sat down before talking.

"Pamela, I really do not want to believe this but I have to ask you something." Harry said, getting strait to the point.

Pamela nodded her head while looking at him in concern.

"Someone told me that they heard you were only dating me for my fame. Is that true? Do you not really like me?" Harry asked.

Pamela looked at him in shock. "Harry…" she said while gripping his hands.

He immediately pulled out of them and looked into her eyes. She almost gasped at what she saw. He was insecure and vulnerable. He only wanted acceptance for who he was and she knew that she could not lie to him.

"Tell me." He said, the wind picking up around him in his anger but Pamela could hear the hurt in his voice as well.

"Harry calm down and I'll tell you." She said while Harry took a few calming breathes and waited for the wind to slow down. "It is true that I only began dating you for your fame and good looks" she said and the wind began to pick up again "but I learned after a week that you were kind and considerate and gentle and understanding." She said hastily when she noticed his expression and the wind as he stood up "You are an amazing boyfriend and I really do like you. I probably don't deserve you and I know I have some issues but if you don't believe anything else, believe that you are a great person and not just because your famous, but because of who you are. And that is something I learned because of you." She said.

Harry looked into her eyes and said "I forgive you but I don't think I could ever be in a relationship with something based off of lies."

"But I really do care for you." Pamela said. "Maybe we could just be friends."

Harry thought about it for a minute and reluctantly he said "Sure Pamela but it might take a while for me to ever trust you again."

Pamela smiled and whipped the tears from her eyes. "I'll make sure to build your trust in me, Harry." She said.

Harry smiled sadly at her and held a hand for her to stand up with him. She accepted and they walked slowly into town without saying a word to each other.

They walked in to town and separated when they reached the center of the village, each going off to do their Christmas shopping by themselves. Pamela joined a group of her friends as they passed and they went immediately into gossip mode. Harry sighed and walked over to the closest shop which was the Quidditch shop.

The shop keeper greeted him as he walked through the door, setting off a bell that dangled from the doorknob.

There were about five other customers in the store and they were each in animated discussion that they did not notice who was in the store with them. Harry walked his way around the store, looking at different things and hoping to find what he needed for Ron's gift.

He walked around the store for twenty minutes before settling on getting his best mate a new, top-of-the-line pair of keeper gloves now that he was on the team and a self-updating book on keeper tactics that added new moves every time that they were invented. It was a new type of book that had just come out and they had different self-updating books for all the positions on the team. He went to the salesman and paid for his gifts before exiting the store and moving to the one right next to it- an animal emporium.

"Hello Mr. Potter." The shopkeeper said as he walked into the store. The store had all different types of animals. There were some snakes in the darker corner, krumps in a playpen in the front of the store, cats and dogs along the sides in respective cages per animal and owls hanging close to the ceiling.

"Hello sir." Harry replied as he walked closer into the store.

"Is there anything I can help you with today?" the storeowner asked as Harry walked around the room and looked at all the animals with a smile on his face.

"Not right now thank you. But if I do find something, could you hold onto it until I finished shopping for the day?" Harry asked.

"That would be no problem at all, sir." The man responded.

Harry nodded before continued looking around the store. He looked at the snakes first and realized that he had not been spending enough time with Bellona. He always fed her but with his hectic schedule he never had time anymore to simply talk to her like he used to in the summer.

Harry continued through the store, petting some krumps behind the ears and stroking some cats until he came across an adorable little kitten.

It has pure black except for a little white tuff of fur on the top of his head. He had bright green eyes as well. Harry scoped him up and stroked underneath his chin which induced a round of purrs and the kitten to stretch his arms across Harry's arm where he was holding him.

"I'll take this kitten." Harry said to the storeowner.

"That's a very handsome kitten. He will need a small cage for moving him from one place to another, some kitten food, which you can purchase one bag at a time or this deluxe bag that self-refills for twenty times. He also needs food and water bowls and a little box. All of that together will cost you fifty galleons." The man said.

"Okay thank you. I will take the deluxe bag and everything needed but I still want to look around the store some more. I think one of my friends would like an owl." Harry said.

"An owl? We just got another shipment of owls in the other day if you wanted to check them out. What is your friend like?" the storeowner asked.

"She's incredible intelligent, extremely loyal and courageous, and is caring and compassionate." Harry said and while he was praising Hermione, he could not help but feel that he could not say enough about how wonderful his friend was.

"She sounds remarkable. I am only just trying to think of an owl that would match her personality." He said. He continued to look around the store until he said "Ah ha!" in front of a brown barn owl with white feathers mixed in with the deep brown feathers. "This is a highly intelligent bird. I named her Athena for the goddess of wisdom."

Harry walked over to the owl and stroked under her chin.

"_Hello Athena." _Harry said to the owl in a whisper for the man not to hear.

"_Hello. How is it that you speak the owl language?" _Athena asked.

"_I am an owl Animagus. How would you like to be a present for one of my closest friends? Her name is Hermione." _Harry asked.

"_I would like that very much, owl speaker." _Athena said.

Harry moved to talk to the storeowner again. "I would like to purchase Athena as well. I would also like to get an owl cage and a few owl treats for her."

"That will be thirty galleons. That, along with the kitten, comes to a total of eighty galleons." The man said.

Harry handed over the right amount of galleons and reminded the man that he would be coming back later to pick up his animals.

He then moved onto the next store which was the bookstore. He looked around the room and though for whom else he needed to purchase gifts. He still needed to buy gifts for Sirius, Remus, Neville, Madeline, and the rest of the Weasleys. He looked through the store but did not think that a book would be a good gift for his pseudo-parents. He thought it would be nice for Neville who could always use a good book on Herbology.

He moved to the Herbology section and selected two books which he thought would be good for his friend. They were a practical career fields for Herbology lover books and an advanced copy of Herbology for the talented.

He paid for the books and left the store. He wandered around the village until he came to the jewelry store that he and Pamela went to on their first date: Sinful Ice.

He walked in and was greeted by the same lady as before.

"Hello lovely. Back again?" she asked.

"Yes Ma'am. This time I am looking for something to give to a younger girl, kinda like a younger sister." Harry said.

"Well we have lockets that are new this week. You can get several protective charms put on them to protect her from miner charms like tripping jinks. There is also room for a picture to be put in the inside." The lady said as she showed him the heart shaped locket. It was silver and opened to have enough room for one picture on one side and an engraving on the other. "You can have whatever you want engraved in this one side that can fit and we can magically attach the picture you want into the other side."

"I think I will get it for her. I would like this picture." Harry said while taking out his wallet and removing a picture of him and Madeline smiling. She was standing up while he was squatting down next to her. "And can I get the engraving to say 'Love always, your big brother.'"

The lady smiled sweetly at him and answered in the affirmative.

"That will be thirty five galleons and sixteen knuts. The picture and engravings will take fifteen minutes if you want to walk around the store for a little bit." She said.

He nodded and walked over to the men's jewelry section. He didn't wear much jewelry, only the bracelet that Ginny gave him and his Potter family ring, but he thought he would look for Sirius and Remus. He looked around in the section until he came across parental bracelets. They would alert the wearer if the person who it was set to watch over was in danger. He read the short pamphlet about it. All he had to do was remove a piece of hair from his head and place it on the bracelet. When he said a certain spell, which would be given to him once he purchased the bracelet, then the hair would weave its way through the bracelet and alert the wearer whenever he was in danger. He thought this would be a great thing for Sirius and Remus so he brought the two bracelets up to the counter to pay for them as well as the locket.

The lady looked delighted that he was purchasing more jewelry and happily gave him the spell to use after he paid for all the items.

He pulled out a few of his hairs with a wince and placed them overtop the bracelets. He then said the spell and the hairs weaved their way through the pattern and glowed bright blue before turning to normal.

Harry thanked the lady before walking out of the store.

He continued his Christmas shopping until his stomach grumbled so he headed over to Madam Rosemerta's where he saw Ron and Hermione headed. He quickly caught up to them and told them about him and Pamela once they were seated and had ordered their food.

"Good for you, Harry." Ron said to Harry while biting into a turkey club sandwich.

"You're going to be alright, right Harry? I don't want to see you get hurt over this because not every girl is like that and you're young, you don't have to find the love of your life right now." Hermione said, always the voice of reason and love combined.

"I'm fine, Hermione. I'm just a little upset that my first girlfriend only started dating me for my fame. I just hope my next girlfriend will go out with me for who I am." Harry said. "But, anyway, enough about me, what did you two do today?"

"Well, Hermione and I went around shopping for Christmas presents so we can't exactly tell you what you got but you are going to love it!" Ron said.

"I can't wait! Are you guys staying here for the holidays?" Harry asked.

"I'm not going to stay. My parents planned for the family to go to a resort in Colorado, which is in the United States, to go skiing." Hermione said to the guys.

"I'm planning on going to the Burrow. Bill is coming back from Egypt and the whole family is going to be together. How about you?" Ron asked Harry.

"Well, I'm not sure. I guess I'll be staying with Sirius but I haven't really asked them about it. They are staying in Hogwarts now so I don't know where we're going if we're going anywhere at all." Harry replied.

The group continued to talk for the remainder of the meal and walked out into the cold air.

"Merlin! It's cold out here!" Ron said while buttoning up his jacket and wrapping a scarf around his neck.

"I know. We should head up to the castle." Hermione said as she headed toward the pathway to Hogwarts.

Harry and Ron walked with her. Hermione was in the middle with Ron and Harry on either side of her.

Harry heard the sound of steps to his right and turned to see what it was. He saw a man in black and quickly pushed his two best friends behind him. They were about to yell and him and asked him what the problem was when they saw the man.

He held a knife in one hand and a wand in the other. He wore all black with a silver mask over his face. He remanded unknown.

Harry approached him cautiously. His wand held firmly in his hand. His eyes burned with power and anger upon the man that threatened his friends and his peers.

"You shouldn't be here." Harry said to the man.

"Oh, but I should. The Dark Lord has sent me for this task and it must be completed." The man replied in a slippery voice.

"What task?" Harry asked him.

"Why, to harm you, of course. We do not get the privilege to kill, which is reserved for the Dark Lord. But, he still wants you to know that you are weak and can never defeat him." the man said, spitting out the last few words in disgust, as if Harry was no match for him or Voldemort and should not even be considered a worthy opponent.

"Funny, but I seem to recall multiple times when I was victorious over your Dark Lord." Harry said with a smirk.

"Why you little!" the man screamed and threw a curse at Harry which he dodged, knowing it had no block. The spell hit the side of the building behind him and caught fire. The occupants ran out into the street to escape from harm and watching the scene in horror before them. One of the occupants being Pamela who stood there is shock at her former boyfriend who had found himself n danger yet again.

Harry threw another curse at the man which hit him in the left shoulder as he moved to dodge it. It sliced open his shoulder and made his trip from the pain.

Harry then threw an Expelliarmus at him while he was falling and caught the other man's wand. He then sent a spell with bound him with ropes and his personal stupefying spell rendering him harmless.

Harry let out a breath of relief and Ron and Hermione ran out from where they were hiding and hugged him.

**Preview: **

**Gossip around school **

**Fights amongst the Golden trio **

**Exciting news **


	18. Winter Blues

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter characters.

**A/N: **Thank you so much for reading this story and sticking through all the bare patching in writing. I sometimes do not feel inspired to write and other times I am too busy. Thank you for putting up with me.

**Chapter Eighteen: Winter Blues **

**Sunday December 2, 10:00 a.m. **

The day felt like it was going on forever for a certain raven-haired teenager. _Why can't people have the decency not to stare? _Harry thought as he saw a group of third year Hufflepuff girls staring straight at him unashamed; they would stare and then began another round of giggles and gossip behind their half-masked hands.

Harry stormed down the hall on a mission to get to his common room. He wanted-no need- to get away from the crowd that would not stop talking about his capture or his love life. It seemed that without a girlfriend, the crowd of girls following him had returned.

He approached the portrait of the Fat Lady who was looking at him sympathetically. He said the password, Spinx, then walked into the red and gold room.

He spotted Ginny in the corner talking to Neville and walked over to them both.

"Hey guys." Harry said while taking a seat next to Neville.

"Hey Harry." They both responded.

"How was Hogsmeade?" Harry asked.

They both gained a light blush on their cheeks which Harry was quick to notice which only broadened his smile and he emitted a light chuckle.

Ginny smacked him lightly on the arm for laughing at their expense before turning serious.

"Harry," Ginny said, earning his attention, "I want you to promise that you won't tell anyone about the two of us." She said indicating to herself and Neville who was looking at Harry pleadingly.

"Why? What is there to be upset about? You two are a couple now, correct?" He asked.

They both nodded their heads.

"I don't see the problem." Harry stated.

"We can't have Ron find out. He would murder me." Neville answered. "He does not like anyone around Ginny and even if it was me she was with, Ron would never allow it."

"You know he won't be like that. He like you, Neville. He's one of your friends. I think that he would accept it if you gave him a chance." Harry reasoned with the slight furrow of his eyebrows.

"You don't understand, Harry." Ginny spoke up. "He doesn't think I am ready to date anyone. He thinks of me as a little girl which I am not." Ginny spoke in a dangerous tone. "I am ready to date and I want to be with Neville so you have to promise me that you won't say anything to anybody." She concluded with pleading, puppy-dog eyes.

Harry sighed before responding. "Of course, Gin. I won't say anything but I think you two need to confront him before it turns into something serious." Harry reasoned.

There was an audible sigh of relieve from Ginny and Neville and a light chuckle from Harry.

"Thank you, Harry." Ginny said and stood to hug him.

"Thanks, mate." Neville said before patting him on the back.

"No problem you guys. But, do you think we could move onto a less stressful things to talk about?" he asked.

They laughed a little before beginning a new conversation on the Christmas presents that they picked out for different people.

* * *

Later that day he decided to go down to speak to Madeline and his friends from Ravenclaw first year. He had been spending less time there than he should have because of his other duties and the fact that Pamela did not like to spend her time with them. Now that he was free from her, he decided to make it up to his small friends.

He walked up to the portrait and said "Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon." He had learned from Hermione that this was the English version of the Hogwarts motto which is _Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus. _From the amount of times that she has read Hogwarts: A History and recited the facts, he had no need to open it at all.

With a smile on his face, he walked into the room to find only sixth and seventh years studying around the fire place and on the various tables that were in the room. He went up to one of them and asked where he could find Madeline Roshield. They went up the girl's staircase seeing as it would make him slide down if he ventured up there, and came back down with the small brunette.

She saw him and ran into his open arms. He swung her around a few times before setting her back down. The sixth, or seventh year, he wasn't sure, went back to their reading with a light shake of her head and a small smile. This used to be a common sight in the Ravenclaw common room and the Ravenclaws got used to seeing him in their common room; they were glad to have him back.

Harry and Madeline walked out of the common room after Madeline got bundled up for the cold December weather.

They walked down to the kitchens which was an adventure for Madeline because she had never been there. The house elves came bouncing around them, asking if they needed anything. Madeline looked at them with wide eyes and her mouth open to the shape of an "O." Harry quickly ordered them two grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit salads before sitting down at the only table in the kitchen. Harry had a sneaky suspension that the elves made the table there just because of the many times he came down there.

"I'm sorry that I haven't seen you in a while, Madeline." He said to her while they were waiting for their food.

"It's fine. I've missed you though." She responded.

"I am really sorry. I have wanted to visit you for a while but I couldn't." he said.

"Was it because of the mean girl that you dated? I heard that you broke up with her." She asked innocently while chewing on the grilled cheese sandwich that just arrived.

Harry crinkled up his face to indicate his displeasure in answered before beginning to explain. "It's complicated. Pamela didn't really like to hang out with younger children. I don't think she really understands how fun you guys are. Anyway, whenever I was with her, I couldn't be with you and whenever I was free to relax, Pamela was always with me. That's kinda what people do when they are in a relationship; they hang out as much as possible." Harry tried to explain to the eleven-year old.

"So you didn't see me because you were dating someone?" she asked, still confused.

"Kind of. It took away a lot of my time that I used to spend with you." Harry further explained.

Madeline seemed to think that this answer was sufficient enough as she took another bite of her sandwich without asking anymore questions.

They ate in comfortable silence before Madeline went into telling an adventure that she had with some of her peers.

"We needed to find out if something was wrong with him, you know?" Madeline asked dead serious.

Harry nodded and put on a straight face though he wanted so bad to smile at how serious she was acting.

"So, we went down to the Great Hall where we thought that he was, seeing as it was dinner. Anyway, he wasn't there. We searched the whole first floor looking for him but he was nowhere to be found. We thought that something was wrong so we kept searching. He could have been eaten by the giant squid for all we knew!" Madeline exclaimed.

Harry smiled down at her and let her keep explain her story of not being able to find one of her best friends.

"We searched and we searched until finally… we found him. And do you know where he was?" Madeline asked exaggeratedly. Harry shook his head with extreme exaggeration and a huge smirk on his face.

"He was in the bathroom! The bathroom!" she said as if it was ridiculous that someone would go to the bathroom.

Harry let out a tiny chuckle which did not go unnoticed by Madeline.

"Are you laughing at me?" she asked with a mock frown.

Harry clamped his mouth shut, fighting to not let another laugh escape, and shook his head no rapidly.

"I think you were." And then she launched across the table and started to tickle him in his weak spot. He returned the favor by tickling her under her armpit, her weak spot.

She erupted into peals of laughter as he tickled her mercilessly. He pulled away after a while to see her with a smile on her face.

They both ordered some dessert before eating it and leaving the room to walk around the castle, relaxing.

* * *

**Wednesday, December 5, 10:00 a.m. **

Harry walked into Double Transfigurations which he took with all the houses. He sat down in the front of the classroom. He remembered how he used to sit closer to the back and would talk to his friends while partially listening to the teacher's voice. But, starting this school year, he had begun to see the importance of his classes and he decided that he needed to get a front row seat. He sat in the front in most of his classes even though he thought he appeared like Hermione when he did.

He smiled while thinking of his friends and waited for the lecture to begin.

"Good morning students." Professor McGonagall said to the class that went quiet from all conversations as the cat Animagus walked into the room.

"Good morning Professor." They droned on in reply.

"Now, back in October, we learned about Animagi. Now that the Christmas break is coming up I wanted you to consider researching about if you can become an Animagi. There is a simple potion that can be made. I know not everyone can transform in two months but it could be a great project to complete before the N.E.W.T. exams since it would be a tremendous amount of extra credit or just to have as an accomplishment in your future." McGonagall said to the class that was at attention with the word 'Animagi.'

"Professor Snape has kindly agreed to help out anyone who is staying over the holidays or instructing those who are leaving about the potion in question. If you have any questions or need further guidance there are three Animagi in the castle, - myself, Headmaster Dumbledore, and Mr. Potter,- at the time and I am sure that any of us are open to questions if asked kindly." She said in a strict yet kind voice.

"Now that the opening announcements have been made, I would like to begin class. Today we are learning how to change a mammal into a different mammal. Now there are many differences in changing a fish to another fish and this new lesson. If you remember when changing fish, you had to focus on how they appeared only since their respiration was combined with their looks through their gills. Now, with mammal to mammal transfiguration you need to focus on the digestion system of the animals as well as the looks. For example," she said while holding up a rat. "If I wanted to change this rat into a bird I would have to focus on the respiration system of the rat as well as all of the physical descriptors such as the fur and whiskers. I would have to focus on turning it into the shape of a bird and all the qualities which accompany it. The spell is _Bestia Verta_ but you should only use it when you know you can envision all of the changes for fear of damaging the animal." She lectured.

"Now you have to listen closely to this next part for I am certain that it will be in your exam. There are two rules to transfiguring mammals to mammals. First, they have to be of relatively same size. They can be slightly larger or smaller so you can change animals into other animals until you get the desired animal. Second, it is wise to picture the animal and envision the animal changing its voice or else, on occasion, animals can end up making the wrong noises. Cows can end up neighing, birds can end up growling, or cats can end up barking. Focus is key for everything." She continued.

The class continued with thirty more minutes of lecture and the rest used on application.

* * *

**Thursday December 6, 11:00 a.m. **

"Hey Harry!" The twins called as they ran down the stairs from their rooms when they saw the black-haired boy enter the room.

"Hey guys." He said as he plopped down on the couch for his free period after assisting Remus with the third year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws for DADA.

"We were wondering if you could help us become Animagi." Fred said.

"Yeah we really want to be able to turn into animals." George said.

"We think it's really cool." Fred said.

Harry turned his head back and forth as each twin said their part. He interrupted them with "Okay. Do you guys know how to make the potion?" he asked.

They both shook their heads.

"Well why don't we head down to the potion lab and see if Professor Snape will let us make the potion during our free period." He suggested.

They agreed with wary eyes and walked down to the dungeons where Harry knocked on the door and waited for the famous, intimidating 'Enter.'

"Professor Snape. Do you mind if we use a potion table to make the Animagus potion?" Harry asked with Fred and George standing behind him.

"Of course you brat." Professor Snape said in the same voice but with a friendly smirk on his face.

Harry laughed, thinking Snape would never change, and set up a potion in the front of the classroom.

Fred and George watched the interaction with amused, shocked eyes and walked to where Harry was monitoring a potion.

"Okay you guys, the potion is really simple and will only take twenty minutes. I need you to get three fresh dragonstrings, one vile of unicorn tears, five drops of phoenix blood, six crushed beetles, two chopped doxy eggs, and one gram of pomegranate seeds." Harry called out from memory.

Snape smiled to himself at how Harry ordered the older boys and was proud to finally be able to see the smart, kind leader Harry was.

The twins went back to the potions cabinet and collected all the ingredients that they needed. Harry instructed them on how to make the simple potion and he led them as they made it.

"Now all you have to do is drink it. When you drink it you will hopefully see a scene from the eyes of what animals you turn into." Harry said.

Both boys gulped down their potions and had a disgusted look on their faces before they went into a sort of trance.

It took a minute but the twins came back to reality with identical smiles on their faces.

"So, what are you?" Harry asked.

They both just smiled so more.

"What? Seriously, can you guys just tell me?" Harry asked.

"We're ferrets!" They both said at the same time.

Harry laughed heartily and did not give up the opportunity to mock the two for being able to turn into the animal that Malfoy was turned into last year.

* * *

**Friday December 7, 6:00 p.m.**

Harry walked in on quite the scene when he entered the common room that evening. He had spend the beginning of the afternoon talking to Madeline and the young Ravenclaws and was now entering the common room to rest and relax that Friday. He was deeply mistaken when he walked in on the common room in chaos.

Ginny and Neville were sitting on the couch next to each other looking disheveled with Ginny sporting swollen red lips making their previous activity pretty obvious.

Ron was standing over top them with a bright red face while pointing his finger at the couple.

Hermione stood by trying to pacify the situation but she did not seem to be making any progress.

When Harry entered the room, the portrait slammed behind him making all the eyes of the room turn to him. Ron turned his attention to Harry at first and he yelled at him. "You knew all along!"

"What is going on?" Harry asked.

"Ron just walked in on Ginny and Neville umm…" Hermione said before Ron interrupted.

"They were snogging! That's what they were doing! They were trying to swallow each other's tongues!" Ron yelled. "I was just minding my own business walking down the stairs when I saw my baby sister snogging someone that I considered my friend."

"I'm still your friend, Ron." Neville said. "I just am in a relationship with Ginny."

"Just because I'm a year younger than you doesn't mean that I can't date." Ginny stood up for herself.

"Harry, you agree with me, right? Ginny shouldn't date anyone; she is too young!" Ron asked in exasperation.

"No. I don't. I see no reason for Ginny and Neville not to be together." Harry said calmly, knowing how dramatic and angry Ron would be following the statement that he just made.

"What? I thought that you would agree with me but I guess you don't understand since you don't have a family. Families need to look after each other but I guess that is just something you never learned seeing as all your family is dead!" Ron yelled.

Harry tried his best to keep a stoic face, to not let his emotions show but in the end his eyes started to water and a single tear slipped down his cheek and fell to the floor. Everyone stopped their arguing to look at Harry whom that had rarely seen cry and Ron who was bright red and still looking accusingly at his best friend.

"I thought that I did have a family in you and Hermione and my close friends but I guess I was wrong." Harry said before fleeing the room.

He ran down the halls with tears starting to stream down his face. Memories of all the times his made up family were there for him playing in his mind. Ron, Hermione, and him solving puzzles while trying to rescue the Sorcerer's Stone. Ron and him in the Chamber of Secrets saving Ginny from Riddle. Remus and Sirius talking to him and telling him stories every night. Ginny calling him her brother. Swinging Madeline around in the air. _But none of them are my real family; Ron is right. I don't have a real family because they died trying to save me. Who would want me as their family anyway? _Harry thought as he finally reached his destination- the large rock by the Black Lake. It was where he went if he needed to think. Normally his animals would find him if he went to this spot for which he was grateful. He knew that he did not spend as much time with them anymore but he knew that they understood and would always be there to comfort him.

So, he slummed down against the rock and watching the sunset as it dipped down around the shimmering water. He pulled his legs up to his chest and hugged them to himself while placing his head in his hands and let out all the tears that were threatening to escape.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione lost her cool and started to yell at Ron for saying those things to Harry.

"I don't know what you were thinking, saying those things to Harry. He might appear like nothing could ever hurt him and he might think that he is unbreakable but in the end he is more fragile than any of us and you just targeted his weakness. He just wants a family and someone to love him and you had the nerve to say that we don't." Hermione yelled at Ron. "I have to go find Sirius and Remus." She said to herself.

She left the common room and charged down the hall on a mission to Remus and Sirius's rooms. She reached there in record time and knocked on the door.

Sirius answered the door with a smile on his face which disappeared when he saw on frazzled Hermione looked.

Hermione let herself in the room and rapidly began telling them what happened.

"Okay, slow down and explain this to us again." Remus said from his spot standing near Hermione.

"Ron found out about Ginny and Neville and started yelling at them. Harry defended them so Ron yelled at him telling him that he did not know about anything since all of his family was dead." Hermione said.

Sirius and Remus sucked in their breathe when they heard the dilemma.

"Is he still in the common room?" Remus asked not really expecting the answer to be positive.

"No. He ran out of there as quick as possible." Hermione answered.

"He's probably down by the lake. He goes there when he is upset. I'll go." Sirius said while already walking out the door.

* * *

"Pup." Sirius called softly to the boy curled into himself by the lake.

He saw Harry stiffen and try to wipe the tears from his eyes; he was never one to like showing his weak side.

"Pup. Talk to me." Sirius said.

Harry sniffled and simply said "I don't have a family."

Sirius replied "That would be where you are wrong."

Harry looked up from his position and turned his body so that it was angled toward his godfather. He looked up at him questioningly, silently asking him to continue his explanation.

"Well, you see, even though Ron is angry right now, he is still your brother. Hermione will always be your sister and it just so happens that since last week, I am now your adoptive father." Sirius said.

Harry's eyes got large at the last part and he squicked out "Really?"

Sirius scratched behind his head and answered "That is, if you want me to be. I went to the Ministry a couple months ago, remember? Well, I filed for adoption. I've been spending the last few months making a house that we could live in."

Before he even completed the last sentence he had his arms filled with a sobbing teenager.

"I take that as a yes?" Sirius said in a mock question.

There was a broken sob-like laugh before he said "yes, yes, a million times yes!"

"Good because I wanted you to come and live with us. Remus is going to move in as well and we were going to be a new type of family." Sirius said.

They continued to hug and Harry continued to cry until he fell asleep on Sirius forcing Sirius to carry the sleeping teenager in his arms up to the castle.

**Preview:**

**The new house**

**Christmas break**

**A/N**: Sorry again for the slow updates. I hope you liked this post and I have a few questions for you.

1. Do you want Harry and Ron to make up so soon? (a.k.a. next chapter)

2. What should happen at Madeline's house at Christmas?

3. What should happen at Hermione's house at Christmas?


	19. AN

Hello! I know that most of you are wondering where I have been and for that I am really sorry. I have had quite the adventureous couple of months and I don't think that you all actually want to read about what I have been doing in the real world.

Anyway, I have a question to propose for you. Should I continue writing my stories or would someone else like to adopt them.

I am going to be at home for all of one week this summer so I wouldn't be able to write then either.

I don't really understand how adopting stories works but if someone would like to write the story for me I have a written out plan of how I feel the story was going to progress. If someone wants to adopt it then they can private message me. :)

I am sorry for those people who have been reading and following my story, I hope it continues to be read and hopefully someone adopts it for if no one does then it will be practically six months before I will be able to continue writting it.

I am extremely sorry!

-NewTimeFan


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